Man United 1.58 v Swansea 7.20; The Draw 4.30
Saturday, 15:00
Saturday, 15:00
Man United
The winless count in all competitions is now up to eight games, which is the longest it has been since January 1990, but there was a slight increase in optimism after a 0-0 draw with Chelsea last time out which, if nothing else, brought an end to a four-match losing streak.
Louis van Gaal said that the players' effort ensured there he had no need to consider resigning, and it doesn't appear as though fans will force his exit either. They resisted the bait of the Jose Mourinho scarves being sold outside the ground, with many instead applauding the current boss at the start and finish.
Another positive for the Dutchman is that his injury list has been trimmed rather than extended by the hectic Christmas schedule. The number of players sidelined has dropped to four, yet unfortunately they are all wide men: Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, Antonio Valencia and Jesse Lingard.
Swansea
As anticipated on Betting.Betfair earlier this week, Alan Curtis has taken over as 3.10favourite in the Next Swansea Manager market on account of a successful start to his caretaker stint, with a return of five points from the last available nine keeping them above the relegation zone.
Curtis hasn't wildly altered the Garry Monk formula, but the change does seem to have stirred a reaction from the players, with Monday's point at Crystal Palace especially impressive given the squad rotation that he engineered, which included benching Andre Ayew and Gylfi Sigurdsson.
That cautious approach to the fixture pile-up has limited the number of injuries that they have to contend with. Federico Fernandez is the sole regular who might not make it, with Wayne Routledge, Franck Tabanou and Eder also doubts.
Match Odds
Swansea have beaten Man United three times in a row and on each of those occasions, the 20-time champions were carrying a lot more momentum into the collision, either due to winning their previous contest or - on the opening day of 2014/15 - due to enjoying a formidable pre-season.
So with the Red Devils in terrible form and their Welsh guests beginning to rebuild their confidence courtesy of a run of three games without a defeat - every single one against teams in the top two-thirds of the table - it is a surprise that the away triumph is trading at enormous odds of 7.20.
It wasn't just last term that the Swans won at Old Trafford either, they were also victorious in the FA Cup in 2013/14 when David Moyes was in charge of the hosts, so they are targeting a third win in three campaigns at the Theatre of Dreams, and a fifth success in six against them at all venues.
Under 2.5 Goals
The one benefit for Man United of their transition from drawing all the time to losing all the time was that it kicked their 0-0 habit, though even that development was established as temporary by their stalemate with Chelsea on Monday.
Seven of their past ten Premier League encounters have delivered under 2.5 goals, including four in five at home, and Swansea are the kind of opponents likely to enhance those ratios further at the appealing price of 1.83.
The Swans have kept three successive clean sheets and their most recent three matches churned out just one goal in total while, even before that sequence, their 2-1 reverse at Manchester City only scaled those heights due to two 90th-minute strikes.
Recommended Bet:
Back under 2.5 goals @ 1.83
