Friday, 4 May 2012

Swansea City vs Man United: The brief, sketchy preview

The trip to Manchester is the penultimate match for Swansea City this season and the chance to cause another real upset in this unpredictable league.

Man United quite possibly threw away their chance at a 20th league title after that lacklustre, tired performance against their rivals on Monday night, but are still tipped to destroy Swansea on Sunday.

However I am optimistic. Perhaps I shouldn't be, with Swansea winning just one in their last seven games and with odds of 12/1 to win this one, but I feel we're still in for one more Swansea City shock before the season is through.

The Swans are safe. They have nothing to lose, and nothing more to gain (the top ten spot is probably just out of reach unless other results go the right way). The Sky cameras will be on, Swansea are clear underdogs and Man United, who are also slightly out of form, will be playing with desperation. Call me a silly sausage, but I feel this has 'upset' written all over it!

Who does Brendan Rodgers pick then? The 3-4-3 worked well to an extent last week, giving Swansea a much stronger attacking threat, but leave three at the back and the Swans will surely be torn apart by Rooney and co. No, it'll be much the same as we've seen all season – 4-5-1 or thereabouts.

I'd like to see Orlandi take part again, after an effective first half last week. Possibly in the place of Leon Britton, maybe even Gylfi Sigurdsson – two players who might have been figured out a little by the opposition.

Alan Tate is expecting to make a return for this game against his former club. However, if Angel Rangel is fit, I don't think many will see Tate starting the game. He may come on at the end, depending on how things are going, similar to Mark Gower getting a little run-around against his former team at Spurs.

Whatever team Rodgers picks for this game, be sure that Sir Alex (...Ferguson) (...you knew who I meant) will field a younger Man United team, a much different side from the bunch who lost to Man City. Good news for Swansea as Jonny Evans and Danny Welbeck are unlikely to feature due to injuries, but we may see the return of Antonio Valencia and Javier Hernandez to the starting line-up.

Betting on the game? Swansea, as mentioned, are around 12/1 to win, and 6/1 to draw. A decent bet to cover may be 'Swansea to win or draw' which is priced at 4/1. It's hard to call a score on this one – I wouldn't bet against 4-4 (at 350/1) if I'm honest, but a more realistic 3-1 to Man United may be wiser (9/1).

Either way, it should be a great final away game for Swansea before a sure win against Liverpool the following week!

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