A cornered and wounded Manchester United team come up against the fallen Swans in a crucial Premier League encounter whose importance cannot be underestimated.
Manchester United were humbled in mid-week by Turkish side Fenerbahce in the Europa League. The humiliating 2-1 loss caps off a terrible run of form for the Red Devils that has seen them claim just the one victory in seven Premier League games.
Swansea City will be hoping to take advantage of this situation. However, the Swans are in trouble themselves, having lost seven and won only one of their 10 Premier League games. New manager Bob Bradley is still in search of his first victory, but has a tough task ahead of him this weekend.
Probable line-ups & Tactics
Swansea City
The first ever American manager in the Premier League is still looking for his first win. The Swans still can’t seem to find a way to win games, despite putting in some good performances from time to time.
Swansea will look to emulate Burnley and put in a solid defensive show to keep Manchester United at bay. In the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Leroy Fer, they have two attack minded midfielders capable of scoring from any position and this will prove useful on the counter-attack.
It is still unclear what sort of tactical set-up Bradley wants to implement on the Welsh side. But he is likely to field a defense oriented 4-2-3-1 in his first game against Manchester United.
Probable Starting XI: Fabianski; Rangel, Hoorn, Amat, Taylor; Fer, Ki; Barrow, Sigurdsson, Routledge; Llorente
Manchester United
The Red Devils will be without their central midfield duo of Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera. While the former went off with a thigh injury during the game against Fenerbahce, the latter is suspended for the red card he received against Burnley.
Manager Jose Mourinho is also facing a touchline ban because of an altercation with match officials in the last game. United may turn to ‘old faithful’ Marouane Fellaini in midfield and that changes the dynamic of the team’s play.
The fluid, quick and attacking style that they showed against Burnley might be difficult to replicate in these circumstances. A cautious approach to shield a compromised defence could be Mourinho’s strategy heading into this must-win encounter.
Probable Starting XI: De Gea; Darmian, Blind, Rojo, Shaw; Fellaini, Schneiderlin; Lingard, Mata, Martial; Ibrahimovic
Stats:
- Swansea City have won three of their last four league games against Manchester United.
- The Red Devils have scored just one goal in their last four league games.
- The Swans are yet to win at home this season, despite playing six games at home at the Liberty Stadium in all competitions.
- Manchester United have scored with just one of their last 91 shots in the Premier League.
- This is Swansea’s worst start to a Premier League season. Their tally of five points in 10 games is six points behind their previous worst tally of 11 points at the same stage in 2013-14.
Player to watch out for:
Juan Mata
The Spanish midfielder was the subject of much transfer speculation this past summer. But Juan Mata has emerged as one of the best players for Manchester United so far this season.
Whatever rumored disputes he had with manager Jose Mourinho seem to be a thing of the past. The Portuguese manager has even handed the Spaniard the captain’s armband in the absence of Wayne Rooney, while statistics show that he could be the key for the Red Devils this season.
Prediction:
Swansea City 1-2 Manchester United
The last four games between these two sides have all ended with a scoreline of 2-1, and the trend looks set to continue this weekend. While the Swans are in dire straits, Manchester United are no better off themselves.
The two teams are both equally desperate for a win and their form is similarly forlorn. Man United could finally see their star players deliver, but a close win seems on the cards rather than a comfortable victory.