Swansea v Manchester United
41/10 draw 28/10 13/20
The crucial Christmas period starts this weekend as the Premier League teams prepare themselves for four matches in the space of 12 days. This period could play a vital part in who is eventually crowned champions come end of the season. Of the two Manchester frontrunners it is United who will face a sterner test this weekend as they travel to Wales to face Swansea while City will host bottom of the pile Reading.
The Swans will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing performance and result at Tottenham last weekend but they’ll find it incredibly tough against a side who are already 6 points clear at the top of the Premier League.
After a six-match unbeaten run which took them to the heady heights of seventh place, Swansea’s momentum has been halted by successive league defeats to Norwich and Spurs, the latter a narrow 1-0 loss at White Hart Lane on Sunday which dropped them down to 10th. They looked a far different side from the one who had beaten Spurs’ north London rivals at the Emirates a fortnight ago but appeared to be set for a share of the spoils thanks largely to some excellent defending until Spurs broke the deadlock in the 75th minute. You can expect the spirited Swans to hold nothing back after those defeats. Captain Ashley Williams has warned Manchester United they will face a very different Swansea City side to the one they beat at the Liberty last season. “It was true that we showed them too much respect last season. We sat back too much in that first half. But this season, I think you can see, we’ve got a lot more belief. We don’t really fear anyone”, said Williams. Coach Michael Laudrup was without first-choice goalkeeper Michel Vorm in their last two defeats and the Dutchman will return between the sticks which will be a big boost. With United coming from behind on so many occasions this season, an interesting statistic is that the Liberty Stadium outfit have won every game in which they have led at half-time so far (three out of three). Striker Michu has scored 13 goals after his £2.2m summer move from Rayo Vallecano and has been key to Swansea’s march towards Wembley in the Capital One Cup (League Cup), in which they have a chance to mark their centenary with a first major trophy after qualifying for the semi-finals. The Spaniard scored a brace against Arsenal in their 2-0 victory and will want to prove he’s the man for the big occasion here.
Red-hot United are on a roll with five successive wins – including a 3-2 derby day triumph at Manchester City – taking them six points clear of the defending champions and their great cross-city rivals. United stayed in control of the league by beating Sunderland 3-1 last Saturday, keeping Manchester City at arm’s length following the champion’s impressive win at Newcastle by the same scoreline. United’s in-form strike partnership of Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney teamed up to preserve United’s six-point lead, both scoring at Old Trafford to add to a sublime strike by midfielder Tom Cleverley. Van Persie who scored his 12th league goal is the only man to match Michu in the Premier League scoring stakes. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are the top scorers in the division with 43 goals in 17 matches. United’s skipper Nemanja Vidic returned from a three-month absence last weekend and his presence has been sorely missed in a campaign where his side have uncontrollably conceded goals.
The Red Devils pulled the double over Swansea last season and possess the best away record in the league with seven wins and just two losses from nine matches. Swansea will try keep the ball, as they so easily do at the Liberty, in an effort to keep United’s explosive attackers quiet for most of the match. The Swans are tipped to hold them to a draw here.
