Prediction: Swansea vs Manchester United

Probably the most interesting match of Gameweek 4 in English Premier League will take place at Liberty Stadium, where in-form Swansea take on revived Manchester United side. With the Swans still unbeaten and Manchester United yet to concede a goal this term, it remains to be seen whether any of these records will still stand after the game.

Many were surprised to see Swansea fail to sign a proper replacement for star striker Wilfried Bony after he had joined Manchester City midway through last season, but Bafetimbi Gomis quickly proved he was a natural successor to the Ivorian forward. The former Lyon striker ended the previous campaign in style, bagging five goals in last six matches, before impressing at the start of the new season as well. Gomis and new signing Andre Ayew have scored all five goals in the league, although the team probably conceded more than they wanted to. But, having kept two clean sheets in last three games, Swansea will want to keep things tight at the back against Manchester United as well, while the former Ligue 1 stars could find it hard to continue the rich vein of form against a team that haven’t conceded a single goal in three games. Gary Monk and his players probably wouldn’t mind avoiding defeat against yet another top 4 contenders, although they will obviously go for a win if an opportunity arises. The talented manager will welcome back Ki Sung-Yeung, who is expected to replace Jack Cork in the starting line-up.

While many believe that defence is the weakest part of Louis van Gaal’s team, Manchester United are proving the doubters wrong, having kept three clean sheets in the league as well as one in Champions League play-off games against Club Brugge. The fact that summer recruit Matteo Darmian has slotted right in certainly helped, whereas Chris Smalling has seriously raised his form of late. Morgan Schneiderlin, Michael Carrick and Bastian Schweinsteiger are all doing a good job of protecting the back four and that is another reason why the Red Devils are looking pretty solid at the back. On the other hand, Wayne Rooney has struggled in the lone striker role, having failed to come even close to scoring in the Premier League, although Louis van Gaal has reason to believe that his Champions League hat-trick will help the England captain rediscover his scoring touch. And while they clearly failed to live up to the billing in the goalless draw with Newcastle, Manchester United made things right by hammering Club Brugge on the road, although the match against Swansea at Liberty will be a whole different ball game. Louis van Gaal will have Marouane Fellaini back from suspension, but Phil Jones continues to miss out.

Conclusion

Swansea are starting to get their defence back in order and the fact of the matter is they have yet to concede at Liberty Stadium this season. Meanwhile, Manchester United still have problems in their build-up play, but look rock-solid at the back, so everything suggests we will see a low-scoring encounter on Sunday afternoon.

Verdict: Under 2.5 goals

Best Odds: 3/4

Bookmaker: bet365