Football: English Premier League
Saturday 16 August 2014 Kick Off 19:45
Manchester United
There is a sense of deja vu as Manchester United get ready to welcome a new era against Swansea on the opening day of the new Premier League season. This time last season, Manchester United prepared for a trip to the Liberty Stadium as the David Moyes era officially got underway, but the fans will be hoping for a similar result albeit with a much more positive end to the new campaign than they saw in 2013/14.It was the worst season that Manchester United suffered during the Premier League era and the worst in the top flight since the 1988/89 season. The problems began early for Moyes and never seemed to resolve themselves which means Louis Van Gaal gets the opportunity to revive Manchester United after guiding the Netherlands to Third Place at the recent World Cup.
The first place United will be looking to recover their form is at Old Trafford where the side were beaten in 7 of their 19 League games last season. They did win 7 of their 10 home games against teams from the bottom half of the table, although Manchester United also lost 2 of those games and now they have to deal with a new formation that their Dutch manager will be asking the team to play.
A strong pre-season has at least raised some hope for Manchester United fans after last season, including wins over the likes of Liverpool and Real Madrid. However, friendlies are rarely a true indication of what a team is capable of and there will be a different sort of pressure on United when the Premier League kicks off. Manchester United did end the season with more inconsistency at home as they won 4, draw 2 and lost 3 of their last 9 games at Old Trafford in all competitions.
Luke Shaw and Michael Carrick have both been ruled out until next month with injuries, while Jonny Evans and Antonio Valencia need to pass fitness tests. Robin Van Persie might have to sit out after only recently returning to training which means Danny Welbeck could be asked to partner new Captain Wayne Rooney along with Juan Mata. Ander Herrera should make his competitive debut for the club after signing from Athletic Bilbao.
Swansea
A lot of the experts believe Swansea are going to have a more effective season than last year when they were hindered by their small squad having to compete in the Europa League as well as the Premier League. Without European football this season, Swansea are expected to return to the middle of the table, but this could be a tough season for Garry Monk and his troops, especially if they can't hold onto Wilfried Bony.Last season, Swansea finished 12th in the Premier League and they ended the campaign with a healthy 9 point advantage over Norwich City in the relegation zone. However, it wasn't plain sailing as shown by the removal of Michael Laudrup as manager despite the success the Dane had the season before last, but it was the form at the Liberty Stadium that prevented the Swans from ending higher up the League table.
Swansea won 3 of their last 4 Premier League games last season which ensured their Premier League future and the side will be looking to build upon that early in the new campaign. The side had failed to win any of 8 away games in all competitions, losing 6 of those games, before ending the season with back to back wins at Newcastle United and Sunderland.
The likes of Michel Vorm, Ben Davies and Michu have moved on from the Liberty Stadium this summer, while Gylfi Sigurdsson returns to the club where he had a lot of success two seasons ago. Bafetimbi Gomes was also brought in, but the best bit of business will be keeping hold of Bony if they manage to do that over the next two weeks. Lukasz Fabianski could be the new Number 1 to replace Vorm.
Head to Head
Manchester United had been unbeaten in 10 all time home games against Swansea before being beating by them in the FA Cup Third Round last season thanks to a late Wilfried Bony goal.United did complete the League double over Swansea with a 1-4 win at the Liberty Stadium and a 2-0 win at Old Trafford.
Manchester United have won 8 of their last 9 home games against Swansea.
Prediction
It is the start of yet another new dawn for Manchester United as Louis Van Gaal takes charge of his first competitive game as manager of the club. The formation won't be something that the fans at Old Trafford are used to, but the pragmatic Dutchman believes it will make the best of a squad that he described as 'unbalanced' when arriving at Old Trafford.After the disappointing campaign under David Moyes, Manchester United fans will be desperate for the team to get off to a strong start and the fixture list has certainly been kind to them on that front. A home game against Swansea should be one that sits well with United, especially as the away side have had a few changes to the squad from last season.
As much as Manchester United struggled at Old Trafford last season, they did win 7 of their home games against those sides that finished in the bottom half and that is something I project for Swansea. They also have had success with the formation that Louis Van Gaal will be using during the pre-season with a little more success going forward, although Manchester United are still going to have a few issues defensively.
In games like this, I would expect those defensive problems won't be as highlighted as in games against the better teams in the Premier League and I can see United making a strong start to the new season. Last season, 7 of their 9 home wins at Old Trafford came by more than a single goal and they have had success against Swansea in recent games here including winning 2 of their last 3 in the League by at least two goals since the Swans returned to the top flight.
United fans would do well to remember twelve months ago and not to get overly carried away by a strong win over Swansea to open the season, but I do think they can win this game by at least two goals.
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