Swansea City vs Manchester United. Premier League.
Swansea.com StadiumAttendance20,938.
Sunday 6 November 2016 14:46, UK
Manchester United travel to struggling Swansea on Sunday in desperate need of a win to get their stuttering season back on track.
Jose Mourinho's side arrive in the Principality on the verge of making their worst start to a Premier League campaign.
Should the Red Devils be defeated at the Liberty Stadium this weekend, the club will have recorded its lowest Premier League points total after 11 games.
Even a draw will mean eighth-placed United have equalled their lowest haul.
And, with United currently sitting eight points off joint-leaders Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, and seven adrift of Chelsea in the fourth and final Champions League berth, victory is imperative for Mourinho and Co in South Wales.
The relegation-threatened Swans are themselves in a perilous position, five points from safety and still without a win since the opening day of the season.
Manager Bob Bradley, who recently took charge of the club, has so far collected just one point from his first three matches. He has called for his players to be mentality tough when they take on the 20-time top-flight champions.
"There needs to be a mentality [of being] not the least bit afraid, that still understands every time we step on the field, this is the chance to turn things around, not one that hides that part of it," Bradley said in his pre-match press conference.
Team news
Swansea winger Jefferson Montero is in contention for his first league start of the season.
Montero has not featured since picking up a calf problem in September, but has returned to full training this week.
Kyle Naughton has recovered from the illness which forced him off in Monday night's 3-1 defeat at Stoke, and Stephen Kingsley and Leon Britton are pushing for recalls with Bradley admitting he is yet to discover his best side.
Paul Pogba is a doubt for the clash at Swansea, and Mourinho will serve a one-match touchline ban.
World-record signing Pogba was forced off 30 minutes into Thursday's Europa League defeat at Fenerbahce with an apparent thigh injury, with the midfielder to be assessed ahead of a match that Ander Herrera will miss through suspension.
Antonio Valencia (arm) and Eric Bailly (knee) are out, while fellow defender Chris Smalling (foot) is a doubt. Bastian Schweinsteiger is unlikely to be involved, having only just returned to training, but Michael Carrick and Memphis Depay are back in contention after being left out of the squad that travelled to Turkey.
Opta stats
Swansea have won three of their last four Premier League meetings with United, losing the other.
United have lost their last two Premier League visits to Swansea. They've only lost three in a row away to the same opponents on four occasions (Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Southampton).
Six of the last eight meetings between these sides in all competitions has ended with a 2-1 scoreline (four wins for Swansea, two for United), including each of the last four in a row.
United have covered the lowest distance in the Premier League so far this season (1055.3km) and have outrun their opponents only once, a league low.
The Red Devils have scored with just one of their last 91 shots in the Premier League and have failed to score with any of their last 67 in the competition since Martial's goal versus Stoke on October 2.
After scoring with four of his first 15 shots in the Premier League, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has now failed to score with his last 42 in the competition.
Swansea have conceded at least two goals in seven of their last nine Premier League matches.
Paul Merson's prediction
I was disappointed in Swansea on Monday night. They were pretty light and average. United, meanwhile, can't score a goal. They had so many shots against Burnley last week but couldn't find the back of the net and that's worrying.
I think this is a hard game for United and I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't win this, but I'm going to back them here. I'd bring Wayne Rooney back in. They haven't done anything without him in the team and they need big players.
I'm sure if he'd been playing up front for as many games as Ibrahimovic without a goal, he would have been dropped by now. If he makes something happen and wins the game, that will give him confidence and it may get the team on a little run.
Paul predicts: 1-2 (7/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
United's season took another turn for the worse when beaten by Fenerbahce in the Europa League and are 8/11 to get back on track with victory over Swansea at the Liberty Stadium. The hosts are 18/5 as they go in search of their first win under American manager Bradley, while the draw can be backed at 14/5. Sky Sports pundit Phil Thompson is backing Ibrahimovic to end his frustrating run of form with a goal against the Swans and he's 7/2 to net the opener on Sunday.
