Swansea vs Manchester United – Three Things To Look Forward To

Manchester United travel to Swansea hoping to extend their unbeaten away run that stretches back to early November. The Swans on the other hand, will be hoping that a win will arrest the slide downward and help ensure that they are not sucked into the relegation dogfight.

Although United lost to Swansea in the opening game of the season, the side that looks set to take to the field at the Liberty Stadium and the one that started at Old Trafford are two completely different teams. Not only the current United side are unbeaten in seven games, they have lost just once in their last 19 games and will be looking for a win that will inch them closer towards second placed Manchester City.

Although Swansea will be well-rested for the game on Saturday, Garry Monk’s side have won just once in their last six games in all competitions and are looking a shadow of the side that occupied the top four early in the season. While this certainly promises to be a tight encounter, here are the three key battles that will decide the outcome of this game.

Jonjo Shelvey vs Wayne Rooney

In the absence of the suspended Gylfi Sigurdsson, Shelvey was playing further forward as an attacking midfielder and carried the bulk of the creative work, in the last few weeks with Jack Cork behind him. With the return of the Icelandic international, the 22-year-old will shift deeper into midfield and will likely come in direct contact with Rooney.

The England captain played up front against Preston, but given Robin Van Persie’s return to fitness, it looks as though Rooney will have to be content with a midfield role. Although he has the passing range to do the job, his threat is limited severely and the quality of the runs becomes all the more important. If Swansea are to get anything from the game, not only does Shelvey need to have a blinding game, they also require him to ensure that Rooney is out of the game for as much as possible. If the Swans can do that then they stand a very good chance of doing the double over the Red Devils.

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Who will win the battle on the flanks?

Although United’s play has been pedestrian and their passing at times labored, one area where they have continually shown plenty of pace and penetration is on the flanks. With Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw operating as full backs, the Red Devils have plenty of pace and impetus going forward, even if they play a narrow midfield diamond with di Maria and Rooney on either side of the deep-lying Daley Blind.

The Swans too are blessed with plenty of pace on the flanks. Their wingers, Jefferson Montero and Nathan Dyer in particular will certainly make life difficult for Valencia and Shaw. If the Swansea pair can stop the full backs from getting forward and joining with the attack, the visitors lose an important dimension of their attack and it will give the home side, the encouragement to go forward and attack. On the other hand, if the full backs prove to be too much for the Swans, then they will certainly have a tough day at the office.

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Ashley Williams vs Chris Smalling

If you wanted to pick two players, who play in the same position, in the same role, but have two completely different styles of play, you couldn’t have picked a more perfect match than Smalling and Williams. Although both are centre backs who will operate in a flat back four, the way they approach the game is completely different. While Williams is calm and composed, Smalling is known to have patches in between games where he has looked like a liability.

With both sides wanting to go forward, attack, the defence will be even more crucial. Whichever of the two aforementioned centre backs has a better day in the office will likely help their side to a win. Van Gaal would be hoping that his side don’t screw it up again and get the win they need to inch closer to City.