Swansea City vs Manchester United: preview/team news/expected XI

Manchester United travel to Swansea City on Sunday afternoon hoping to get back to winning ways and settle a score with their South- Welsh counterparts in the process.
Garry Monk led his troops to an impressive double over the Premier League giants last season in what proved an excellent first- full season for the young manager.

Form guide: Four wins and a draw in all competitions for the Reds reads like an excellent start, but there is a sense that United are yet to truly click into gear. Wednesday’s 4-0 demolition of Brugge gave fans much to be hopeful about, with Wayne Rooney’s hat-trick ending all talk of a goal drought. This weekend’s opponents have also started the season brightly, holding champions Chelsea to a draw and almost beating them at Stamford Bridge, and have since registered a win at home to Newcastle and another away draw against Sunderland. In the Capital One Cup this week, the Swans won 3-0 at home to York City, despite manager Garry Monk fielding any entirely different XI to the previous game. 

Quote/unquote: “We feel more confident now, but Sunday is going to be different. Last season against Swansea we gave six points for them, so we have to be ready to play against them. They are a very good side.” - Ander Herrera.

Opposition view: “United have made some unbelievable signings with the money they have got and that means it will always be tough to compete against them. But we showed against Chelsea we are more than capable of competing with those teams. The coaches and the gaffer really do their homework and make sure we are ready." - Nathan Dyer.

Star man: With three goals in three games so far this campaign, it’s difficult to look beyond Bafetimbi Gomis as Swansea’s main man. The French forward may not have hit the ground running immediately last season, but still finished with ten goals to his name, including the winner against United in February.

Sub-plot:Following Wayne Rooney's hat-trick in mid-week, and the fine form of Gomis, all eyes will be on the two strikers this weekend. Both players scored in clashes between the teams last season - Rooney at Old Trafford and Gomis at the Liberty Stadium.

Team news: Marouane Fellaini will be available for this clash following the completion of his three-match suspension and Marcos Rojo could also be involved after playing an hour for the Under-21s in Thursday's behind-closed-doors friendly against Ajax. Adnan Januzaj has been ruled out after picking up an injury against Brugge and Phil Jones is still on the absent list. Monk's squad is fully fit for Sunday’s encounter, with the Bedford-born coach likely to instruct his team to go out on the front font following last season's home and away successes against the Reds.

Expected XI

Swansea City

Fabianski
Naughton
Fernandez
Williams
Taylor
Cork
Shelvey
Sigurdsson
Montero
Ayew
Gomis

Manchester United

Romero
Darmian
Smalling
Blind
Shaw
Carrick
Schneiderlin
Young
Mata
Depay
Rooney

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