"Robin Van Persie is not starting this game" said the new Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal, so you might say that they have
a weakness ahead of this game. Luke Shaw is injured and will be out for about 4 weeks and that is not all. Sam Johnstone, Antonio Valencia, Jonny Evans, Danny Welbeck and Michael Carrick are all recovering from injuries and they will not be featured in the squad this afternoon.
Van Gaal will have to improvise with some substitutions and knowing that all the pressure and all the attention will be on their backs, he has to give a hell of a speech in the dressing room.
On the other side, Swansea and Gary Monk have 3 injured players, Leon Britton, Marvin Emnes and Jay Fulton. Also, 4 last year’s first team lads have left the club, Pablo Hernandes, Chico Flores, Ben Davies and Michel Vorm. Michu is also out of combination as he agreed to spend a season long loan in Napoli.
Lukasz Fabianski, Bafetimbi Gomis, Jefferson Montero and Gylfi Sigurdsson are the replacements for this season and Gary Monk has to find a way to put out a winning team this season combining this players.
When you have players like Mata, Rooney, Fellaini, Shelvey, Bony that can decide the game in one move, it has to be a wonderful game. But also, we should be realistic and expect cautious approach from both side, since they are both able to step on the ball and control the game, which means that one goal probably will make the difference.
Nostradamus tip: under 2.5 goals