Garry Monk’s side finally ended their poor form away from home two weeks ago, winning on a road for the first time in five months, at Villa Park. Yet, the scrappy 2-1 victory against Aston Villa is not enough for a team targeting a top half finish.

What Swansea need is the spark they were showing early into the season. Though the opening 2-2 draw at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge isn’t that surprising a couple of months later, it showed what this team is capable of. The Swans were shining, playing both attractively and effectively. They were able to show their best against Newcastle and Manchester United, but everything afterwards has been below the standard set.

Unpredictability is what brings results nowadays when every team is being scouted from match to match. Bafetimbi Gomis was moving around well, Jefferson Montero had some amazing games and seemed unstoppable, while Jonjo Shelvey was hard to close down with his sharp and swift long balls. But, it all vanished from September on. Montero always seems to be doing the same thing, moving the ball onto his left foot and he barely ever cuts in as an inside forward. Gylfi Sigurdsson has almost no impact on games now with he gets between two great wingers Montero and Andre Ayew.

Swansea have problems converting the chances they create. Only three players scored for Swansea this season, excluding Hary Kane’s own goal in a 2-2 draw against Tottenham. From those three, Gomis hasn't scored since August and Sigurdsson scored both goals from set pieces. Only Ayew is consistent, scoring five goals as a slightly less attacking winger than Montero is, for instance. His movement is great in both directions, helping Kyle Naughton defensively and taking part in attacks.

Swansea simply must improve their finishing. On average, Monk’s players register 4.5 shots on target per match, which makes them the seventh best club in the league in that area. Yet, they score just a bit over one goal per match - 12 in 11 matches - which is 16th best in the league. The problem is obvious, but how can they solve it?

Gomis constantly being offside isn’t helpful. He is by far the most off-sided player in the league – 2.4 per match, next is Diego Costa with only 1.1 per match – and his poor finishing probably cost Swansea a better result against Arsenal. Montero caused a lot of positive talk early into the season, but his impact on results is not that great. He has made only nine shots in the entire season so far – including both on and off target - and he could use a bit of unpredictability in his game, too.

Swansea mostly need to improve in the attacking third, where they have hard time scoring. But, they could also do better on the flanks defensively. Both Naughton and Taylor concede too many crosses, as Swansea’s last four opponents averaged 20 from their attacking third. It puts way too much pressure on Federico Fernandez and Ashley Williams, and Swansea’s captain is ranked third among players in number of clearances this season. Monk has to make full backs stricter on their opponents and find the way to help Montero and Gomis ‘click’ again.

Swansea already have a strong starting XI and they don’t need to change much. Yet, these little changes would give them more choices in attack and less space for opponents. Adjusting could do wonders for Garry Monk, with such a sturdy squad he has at disposal.

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