After winning the Capital One Cup the atmosphere at the Liberty Stadium will be overwhelming. Swansea crushed its opponent Bradford in the final and deservedly won the trophy, which culminated the team`s good performance this season. Winning the cup and securing participation in the Europa League, however, can affect negatively the performance of Swansea from here to the end of the season in the league. Such an outcome of the events had been witnessed several times. After winning this trophy Liverpool played at a very low level in the league, and when Birmingham lifted the League Cup, the team then relegated.
The new signings at Newcastle already have they positive impact as the team won 3 of its last 4 league games. Newcastle also managed to qualify for the 1/8 finals of the Europa League and we can definitely say that the "Magpies" significantly improved their performance lately. In this match Newcastle visits a really strong host who had not been beaten in 9 of its last 10 home league games.
Michael Laudrup may find it difficult to motivate his players for this match after their triumph in the League Cup. For Newcastle the motivation does not seem a problem as the team is inspired by its recent performances. Furthermore, with its new quality players Newcastle is now chasing ranking in the top half of the table.