What: English Premier League
Who: Swansea City vs Manchester United
When: Sunday 23rd December, 2012, at 13:30 UK Time
Where: Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales
Swans in Cruise Control
Swansea made a fantastic start to the season, before suffering a mini blip, but having restored cohesiveness to their play, Michael Laudrup’s side have been one of the success stories of the campaign once again. Arguably the best team in the Premier League to watch at present, they appear in little danger of being sucked into the relegation battle some predicted. The Swans have however lost their last two league games.
Key has been Michu, the brilliant summer signing and joint top Premier League goalscorer at present. The Spaniard has revelled in the area just behind where a striker would usually be positioned, enabling him to drift into dangerous spaces from where he can score goals. This is more than just a “one man team” though, and Swansea’s play is ultimately about the collective – more so than most sides. All of their summer signings have impressed; Jonathan de Guzman has been superb, as has Sung Yeung Ki, whilst the ever reliable Leon Britton continues to epitomise understated excellence.
Victory at Arsenal last month saw Swansea at their best, as they passed around their more celebrated opponents with ease, their movement and fluid quick passing tearing the home team apart. They were applauded off at the end, and rightly so. Few teams go to the Emirates, dominate possession and come away with a win. That day, the Welsh giants looked like a team free of pressure and it is easy to understand why. Having been expected to struggle after Brendan Rodgers’ departure, they have if anything improved, and so are exceeding expectations again. That, combined with their ability to dictate against the division’s best, will make them a real threat for Manchester United.
Plain Sailing for Leaky United
Manchester United continue to enjoy a comfortable ride in this season’s Premier League. They have won their last five league games and are now six points clear of the only side who look realistic challengers, the champions Manchester City. Sir Alex Ferguson is determined to win back the title and his team are traditionally strong over the Christmas period. However, contrary to popular theory, statistics show that Manchester United have won fewer points in the second half of seasons in four of the last six years. Therefore, building up a big lead going into the new year will be vital for the Red Devils.
The return of Jonny Evans is important. In the absence of Nemanja Vidic, Evans provided stability last year and his form has not been fantastic this year, causing some of the defensive woes Ferguson’s team have suffered. If he comes back and plays to something approaching his potential, he can add solidity to a defence set to welcome back Vidic soon, possibly even in this game.
Manchester United do have frailties and have won a number of games by just a goal. They are still comfortably the best team in the country right now, but they have weaknesses that can be exposed by a fluid team in form – someone like Swansea.
Recent form
Swansea City:
Swansea City 3-4 Norwich City (08/12; Premier League)
Swansea City 1-0 Middlesbrough (12/12; Capital One Cup)
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Swansea City (16/12; Premier League)
Manchester United:
Manchester United 0-1 CFR Cluj (05/12; Champions League)
Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United (09/12; Premier League)
Manchester United 3-1 Sunderland (15/12; Premier League)
Key absences
Swansea City: Pablo Hernandez; Michel Vorm (doubt); Angel Rangel; (doubt); Neil Taylor
Manchester United: Nemanja Vidic (doubt); Rafael (doubt); Shinji Kagawa; Nani; Anderson
Players to watch
Swansea City – Michu: Michu is Swansea’s obvious goal threat and he is particularly important because they have not been able to coax goals from any of their strikers with any regularity. A large part of the reason is because the side have not often fielded their main forwards, Leroy Lita, Itay Schechter and Danny Graham. Therefore the onus is on the Spaniard, surely the signing of the season, to take chances. He could enjoy himself against Manchester United. He was so effective against Arsenal because the Londoners did not track his runs and he was able to intelligently move into space in the final third, and Manchester United’s midfield has been guilty of allowing players too much time in that part of the pitch so far this season. That is what makes him especially dangerous this weekend.
Manchester United – Robin van Persie: There is little doubt who the key danger will be for Swansea. Manchester United are ruthless when counter attacking and Van Persie is better than anyone when it comes to finding space in threatening areas. Swansea will have to pay attention to his runs, but the problem is that the first time a defender notices the Dutchman’s movement is when it is too late already. The home team’s ability to track his runs and isolate him in the game will be critical.
Match Prediction
This should be a game full of quality, with both teams cruising comfortably through the season so far. Manchester United have been comfortably superior to most of their opponents this season. The only thing which has stopped them winning games more comprehensively has been their leaky defence. It is interesting to note the teams who have caused them problems. Liverpool and Manchester City both dominated possession for the most part, although Manchester United were able to pick up smash and grab wins in both games. They could not deal with Tottenham’s counter attacking threat at home and away to Everton and Norwich came up against superbly organised defences.
Swansea will pose a threat similar to that of Liverpool and Manchester City. They could well boss the midfield, as they usually do, and Manchester United will go into their usual counter attacking mode. However as has been frequently noted, Ferguson’s men have developed a habit of going behind in games. Unlike Liverpool and Man City, Swansea will not feel under pressure in this game and expect that freedom to help them get their noses in front.
The Welsh side have shown this season that incisive, fast attacking moves can carve them apart and with Manchester United’s wealth of attacking options it would be a surprise if they were not able to find the back of the net at least once. However, with the Swans dominating possession, expect them to make enough chances to make the visitors pay and record yet another historic win. Swansea 3-2 Manchester United.
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