Prediction: Swansea vs Manchester City



Verdict: Man City to win to nil

Best Odds: 1/1

Bookmaker: bet365

It will be up to relegation-threatened Swansea City to try and make the title race interesting again by ending Manchester City’s impressive 14-match winning run in the Premiership. The Citizens opened up an 11-point lead with the triumph at Old Trafford, meaning the coveted trophy is now theirs to lose.

Swansea

It was a tremendous finish to the previous Premier League campaign that helped Swansea City beat the drop, but they will want to secure survival much earlier this term. That will be no easy task given that key men Gylfi Sigurssson and Fernando Llorente were allowed to leave in the summer, with expensive signings Wilfried Bony, Sam Clucas, Roque Mesa and Renato Sanchez so far failing to prove their worth. The Ivorian striker appears to be finally showing some improvement having scored in last two outings, helping the Swans and en eight-match winless run in all competitions. However, few more important players will have to start pulling their weight if Swansea City are to leave the bottom three, but the difficult fixture list between now and the end of the year is definitely a cause for concern. Namely, Paul Clement’s side will be facing the likes of Man City, Everton, Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Watford in their next five league fixtures, so we wouldn’t be surprised if they enter the New Year close to the bottom of the standings. Having scored mere two goals in last five matches at Liberty Stadium, we don’t see how the Swans are going to match the red-hot Man City.

Team News

Former Man City striker Wilfried Bony will have an extra motivation to do well on Wednesday evening, but Kyle Bartley is out injured.



Manchester City

Mere 16 games into the new league campaign and many believe that Manchester City are almost certain to lift the Premier League trophy at the end of the season, which speaks volumes about their outstanding performances so far. After struggling in his first year in charge, Pep Guardiola has begun to get the maximum out of his side, with 15 wins and 48 goals scored helping the Citizens create an 11-point cushion at the Premiership summit. Guardiola’s rotation policy has worked like a charm so far, as key men remained in good shape and the results did not suffer. Weekend’s triumph at Old Trafford was definitely an important step towards the Premier League trophy, and the victory will hand the team yet another boost ahead of the busy Christmas schedule. Having won each of eight Premier League games on the road this season, scoring 20 goals in the process, Man City are rightly considered hot favourites to triumph at Liberty Stadium, especially given the difference in quality and poor form of the Welsh side.

Team News

Sergio Aguero is set to be recalled to the starting line-up, but Vincent Kompany, John Stones and Benjamin Mendy remain in the treatment room.

Key Factors to Consider

• Man City on a 14-match winning run
• The Citizens won each of eight away matches in the current campaign
• Swansea lost 7 of last 9 matches on all fronts
• They scored just 2 goals in last 5 home games
• Man City won 9 of last 11 meetings with Swansea (D2)

Conclusion

Swansea showed some improvement to end a barren run, but they simply don’t have enough quality to match in-form Manchester City at the moment. The Citizens can be trusted to make it 15 wins on the bounce, and they could do so without conceding.

Verdict: Man City to win to nil

Best Odds: 1/1

Bookmaker: bet365