West Ham United host Swansea City on Saturday, in a game in which both managers will be desperate for three points.

West Ham manager Slaven Bilić has come under recent pressure after a lacklustre season which has also seen them lose their last five league games.

Swansea boss Paul Clement has seen his side slip after some initial good form when he took over, having taken just one point from their last four games.

How are the sides shaping up?

Five straight losses and seven games without a win has seen Bilić come under a lot of pressure from the fans, and recent reports have also claimed that there is a contingency plan in place if The Hammers do lose this fixture.

West Ham are just five points above the relegation zone, and hovering dangerously close to the drop seems to have put their owners on red-alert.

Swansea are in a similar predicament, having gained just a single point from fixtures against Hull City, Bournemouth and Middlesbrough before suffering a heart-wrenching 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hospur on Wednesday.

Christian Eriksen celebrating his goal against Swansea. (Photo: Athena Pictures/Getty)

Swansea have dropped into the relegation zone after Hull beat Middlesbrough midweek, and are in a desperate need for points.

What have the managers had to say?

Bilić  said: "We have to do the job," he said. "We wanted to do it before now. I didn't smell this, I didn't think we would lose five games.

"I will never stop believing in myself but to get, or to keep, other people believing, people who are not involved in training or the amount of work I do here, you have to deliver the results and now it is about time. You have to do it for the club.

Slaven Bilić  could really do with a win. (Photo: Rob Newell - CameraSport/Getty) 

After the loss to Spurs, Clement described the loss as “heart-breaking” and that they have to go to West Ham knowing they can get a win.

"We need to get a result, especially in the next two games because the games are running out now." Clement said.

Team news

West Ham are hopeful that Andy Carroll and Michail Antonio will be able to feature, after the pair were forced off during the side’s 3-0 loss to Arsenal in midweek.

While Aaron Cresswell, Winston Reid, Angelo Ogbonna and Pedro Obiang remain sidelined.

Swansea’s top scorer Fernando Llorente could return to the starting lineup after an ankle injury kept him out of their last two Premier League games.

Kyle Naughton is a doubt after being forced off in midweek, which could mean that Leroy Fer is deployed at right-back once again.

Leroy Fer could find himself in an unfamiliar role again. (Photo: Athena Pictures/Getty)

Past meetings

In the reverse fixture, West Ham were the latest side to humiliate Bob Bradley’s Swansea after winning 4-1 at the Liberty Stadium.

Andre Ayew opened the scoring, before goals from Reid, Antonio, Carroll and a consolation from Llorente completed the scoreline.

Swansea have beaten West Ham twice since they were promoted to the Premier League, while West Ham have been victorious four times.

The two sides meet at the London Stadium, Saturday April 8th at 15:00.

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About the author
Jack Mceachen
Sports Journalist in Staffordshire University.