The Match
Swansea have had just about as good a pre-season as it's possible to have, and I think fans must surely be wondering at what point we're going to taste defeat - or even concede a goal - given how well it's gone so far. All the new signings seem to be bedding in, everyone seems happy and results have been good to boot - the 4-0 home win over Malmo was followed up by a goalless draw at their place so the defence as well as the attack will be looking to continue where they left off. If memory serves correct so far this season (including pre-season matches) we've scored thirty-two goals, and conceded one. Bring on United!
Manchester United have had a summer of more turmoil than they'd have hoped for, given Moyes' appointment and Fergie's emotional standing-down. Wayne Rooney's refusal to toe the party line is threatening to disrupt the United squad, which is hardly what they need as they look to retain their Premier League crown. Moyes does have a poor opening-day record though, (three wins, one draw and seven losses), so it'll be interesting to see how gung-ho he allows his inaugural United team to be.
Prior Form (most recent at top)
Europa League Malmö FF 0 - 0 Swansea
Europa League Swansea 4 - 0 Malmö FF
Friendly Reading 0 - 3 Swansea
Friendly Exeter City 0 - 2 Swansea
Friendly Yeovil Town 0 - 5 Swansea
Charity Shield Man Utd 2 - 0 Wigan Athletic
Friendly Man Utd 3 - 1 Sevilla
Friendly AIK Solna 1 - 1 Man Utd
Friendly Kitchee 2 - 5 Man Utd
Friendly Cerezo Osaka 2 - 2 Man Utd
Team News
Manchester United have an injury list almost as impressive as Arsenal's. Carrick picked up an eye injury and missed England's win over Scotland, while Ashley Young, Javier Hernandez & Nani all missed either their country's international match in midweek or the Charity Shield match on the weekend. Darren Fletcher remains sidelined with his chronic bowel condition, Rafael will see out the final match of a three game ban, and Wayne Rooney may well be only be deemed fit enough for the bench, despite playing over an hour for England on Wednesday.
Completely guessed lineups
Statistics & Trivia
- Michu scored in both of his two previous appearances against the reigning champions.
- Manchester United hit the woodwork 24 times last season, more than any other PL side.
- United had 20 different goalscorers last season, a Premier League record.
- Manchester United came from behind to claim 29 points in the Premier League last season. Only Newcastle in 2001-02 (34) have bettered that total, but the Swans were adept at holding on to the lead last year.more.
- United nudged the Swans last year in terms of pass accuracy, with 85.7% completion as opposed to the Swans 85%.
- They also managed a slightly higher average in terms of possession, with 56.2% over Swansea's 55.3%.
Analysis
As hinted at earlier, Moyes has a pretty nasty opening day record in the Premier League, and I expect him to name a fairly defensive side. Given the likelihood that Bony will only be fit enough for the bench this could well be mirrored in the Swans midfield, with three traditional midfielders as opposed to two with Michu ahead of them, and it seems set to be a battle of the midfields in South Wales come Saturday.
I fancy Pablo Hernandez to be really fired up, and I'm hoping he'll start. He missed both European games and after impressing in pre-season he'll be keen to stake his claim for a first-team berth in a game which will be closely scrutinised across the world - even if most people will be concentrating on the team in red as opposed to the ones in white.
Up front for United it's likely Robin Van Persie will lead the line with Rooney, like Bony, almost certain to only make the bench given midweek international exploits. Ashley Williams will no doubt be keen to renew acquaintances with the Dutchman after severely getting his back up (along with his manager's) last year at the Liberty by booting the ball into the prone striker's head. Arsenal fans love Ash for that, but it's unlikely to influence matters come game time as keeping Van Persie at bay is no mean feat. A clean sheet will be a pretty heroic effort against such illustrious opponents who, as yet, have yet to be stopped from scoring by the Swans - and I think it will be too much to ask for in all honesty.
My gut feeling is this will be a low-scoring draw, but it's so impossible to predict making any kind of score prediction is futile. One worry I have is that the Swans defence have so far seen so little action, and conceded so few goals, that one may quickly be followed by another and another until the fog clears, but there's no reason to believe that'll be the case with the same back four available which stood us in such good stead last year.
Finally, football is back. Come on you Swans!