Swansea V Fulham at Liberty Stadium - Match Preview




Laudrup: We can be best of the rest

Manager Michael Laudrup has urged his Swansea side to remain motivated and claim a victory against Fulham which could see them finish best of the rest in the Barclays Premier League.

Sunday's mid-table contest against the Cottagers is a dead rubber with Fulham already safe and Swansea guaranteed a top-10 finish at the end of a campaign which saw them win the Capital One Cup.

With few incentives for either side, the Liberty Stadium clash may not be expected to provide the most entertaining action of the final weekend of the season.

But Swansea can still leapfrog West Brom and claim eighth place; the Welsh club require a victory and need to hope the Baggies drop points against Manchester United.

The extra spot in the league would earn the Swans an extra #800,000 in prize money and see them top what Laudrup considers to be the second tier of the top flight.

"Sometimes as an individual and as a team you need to find your own motivation," said Laudrup. "Sunday will be our 47th game and I cannot stand there as a manager every single game and say how important it is.

"Individuals have to find their own motivation. If I was playing, my motivation perhaps would be to win our last game at home because final impressions are important.

"Winning could get us eighth position, which in my world is winning the championship because we cannot really touch the seven teams above us.

"The players have to find their own motivation because we have to agree that this is not the world's most important game."

Swansea expect goalkeeper Michel Vorm to be fit.

The Dutchman suffered concussion in the win at Wigan but is set to make his return for the last game of the season.

Ki Sung-yueng is doubtful with a thigh problem but Leon Britton is fit after shaking off a virus.

Ben Davies is expected to come in for Neil Taylor at left-back.

Manager Martin Jol wants Fulham to end a difficult season on a high at Swansea - a side he insists are not much better than the west Londoners.

After losing the likes of Clint Dempsey, Mousa Dembele and Danny Murphy last summer, the Whites have struggled for consistency this season.

Good patches at the start of the campaign and over the Christmas period were both followed by a run of poor results, including the current streak that has seen them fail to win since April 1.

They head to Swansea on the back of five successive defeats and Jol is targeting three points that would highlight the decent work they have done in difficult circumstances.

"I would love to have a good result over there," Jol said. "That would put everything in perspective again if we could finish this season off on 43 points.

"Look at all the other teams around us - 39 points, 40, 41, 43. Swansea is probably the first team of that and could finish in the top eight if they beat us. It will be a boost for us if we can win and for the 800 or 900 fans we take with us.

"The difference between us and Swansea is the game at Craven Cottage. They've got 46 points, we've got 40.

"We were the first team that had more possession against them but two goals due to our defence gave them the win.

"If we had won, we would have both been on 43 points but they [according to pundits] were fantastic and we were useless this season. That is the Premier League, it is a thin line."

Kieran Richardson will miss out for Fulham with a hamstring injury.

Steve Sidwell is suspended while long-term absentees Mahamadou Diarra (knee), Ashkan Dejagah (ankle) and Simon Davies (hip) are out.

Source: PA

Source: PA