Manchester United will travel to Liberty Stadium on Saturday to play Swansea City, looking to maintain their winning momentum
Manchester United will travel to the Liberty Stadium on Saturday looking to build up further momentum after their opening week’s 4-0 demolition of West Ham. Manager Jose Mourinho will be quite pleased with their performance and will expect a similar show against Swansea.
The Reds Devils thrashed the Hammers at Old Trafford last Sunday. They dominated the attack while the back line put up a solid performance, helping David De Gea maintain a clean sheet.
Swansea, on the other hand, will be keen to add three crucial points to their tally. Their opening game was hardly eventful, as they had to be satisfied with a goal-less draw against Southampton at the St Mary’s stadium. The club will look to exploit weaknesses in the United squad as they go looking for their first win of the new season.
Team News & Tactics
Swansea City
Swansea signed Roque Mesa from Las Palmas this summer, but he didn’t come off the bench in their opening day clash against Southampton. He could go on to make his Premier League debut against United. Fernando Llorente is yet to recover from a broken arm, and will sit this one out. Nathan Dyer and Ryan Blair remain long-term absentees.
Alfie Mawson has been quite impressive, and is likely to feature against United. This match will be an immense test of Mawson’s credentials as he will have to face Romelu Lukaku, and he is likely to be Swansea’s biggest threat. For a club that shipped 70 goals last season, there will be a lot of pressure on their defence against United.
Going forward, Tammy Abraham can be lethal for Swansea. The Chelsea youngster scored 26 times on loan at Championship side Bristol City last term, and will be looking to continue the good form against a big club like Manchester United.
Swansea deployed a 4-3-3 system against Southampton with Wayne Routledge and Jordan Ayew on either side of Abraham. They are expected to do the same as they host the Red Devils. Meanwhile, Gylfi Sigurdsson’s departure to Everton might pose problems for Paul Clement’s side and it will be interesting to see how they fare without him.
Predicted lineup (4-3-3): Fabianski, Naughton, Mawson, Fernandez, Olsson, Carroll, Britton, Fer, Routledge, Abraham, Ayew
Manchester United
United’s injury list includes the usual names this season as well. Ashley Young is out with a hamstring injury, while Luke Shaw continues to nurse a joint injury. Marcos Rojo will also not feature in this game, but all three players are expected to make a comeback soon. Besides that, Mourinho will have a fresh squad to choose from.
Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku put up impressive debuts against West Ham, while Victor Lindelof missed out and he will be hopeful of making his debut soon. Knowing Mourinho, the Portuguese boss is likely to ease the Swedish centre-back slowly as he comes to terms with the rigours of the Premier League.
Lukaku and Matic are likely to continue their superb form against Swansea as well, but there could be a change in the midfield to create room for Ander Herrera. That would lead to Juan Mata sitting on the sidelines for this game. However, Mourinho is unlikely to face too many troubles since the current United squad is quite versatile.
Despite experimenting with a back three during pre-season matches, Mourinho reverted to a 4-2-3-1 system for United’s Premier League opener, and is likely to deploy the same formation against Swansea as well. The manager will be hoping to maintain yet another clean sheet, and considering United’s strength at the back, it could be likely.
Predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Darmian, Matic, Herrera, Pogba, Rashford, Lukaku, Mkhitaryan
Key Stats
- The last time Swansea maintained a clean sheet against Manchester United was in December 1982.
- Manchester United won two of their last three Premier League meetings with Swansea, which includes one draw.
- Swansea are currently facing one of their longest unbeaten runs in the competition (six games).
- Manchester United’s away record has been a cause of worry since they won only two points and scored one goal in their last four Premier League matches away from Old Trafford.
Betting Odds
Favourable Bets:
1. Manchester United Asian Handicap -1.5 @ 2.025
2. Romelu Lukaku to score anytime @ 1.80
Underdog Bets:
1. Romelu Lukaku to score 2 or more @ 4.50
Prediction
Swansea City 0 – 2 Manchester United
On paper, Manchester United seem like the better team by a mile. Their attack has been top-notch coupled with a seemingly solid defence. The Red Devils will be keen on continuing their positive run in the Premier League so far, and will be hungry to improve their away record with a win against Swansea.
Jose Mourinho’s men are likely to play clean, counter-attacking football while hunting for chances to launch sudden attacks. Additionally, Swansea will be desperate for a win – a factor that the Portuguese tactician is likely to exploit and use to the squad’s advantage.
Thus, Manchester United appear set to beat Swansea, with United’s attack looking sharper than ever. Romelu Lukaku will be eager on scoring yet again, after a largely successful debut.
