Swansea v Man Utd
Saturday, 12:30
Live on Sky Sports

Sigurdsson absence hurts Swans' hopes


Swansea's decision to recruit Paul Clement in a bid to stave off relegation worked a treatlast season.

After a fairly swift bedding in process, Clement made them a real force at home, guiding the Swans to six wins and a draw in their final eight matches at The Liberty Stadium.

They ended the 2016/17 campaign unbeaten in their five matches and extended that sequence to six with a 0-0 draw at Southampton on opening day.

But they clearly lacked spark at St. Mary's (not a single shot on target) and it was pretty obvious why.

Gylfi Sigurdsson wasn't considered for that match as the haggling over his transfer fee to Everton continued and his creativity was sorely missed.

The absence of the Icelander from Saturday's team sheet will certainly be welcomed by United fans given that Sigurdsson has scored three and assisted three in his last six games against the Red Devils.

United look to build on fast start


There will be harder tests than West Ham at home but there were some hugely positive signs from Man Utd in that 4-0 win.

Romelu Lukaku hit the ground running with a debut brace, Nemanja Matic bedded in straight away and Paul Pogba looked to be an immediate beneficiary of the ex-Chelsea man's arrival.

From looking like a collection of individuals over the last couple of seasons, United were balanced and a trip to Swansea gives them an obvious opportunity to build on that ominous start.

Jose Mourinho will have a warm embrace for Clement, who was an academy boss under the Portuguese at Chelsea.

The goodwill won't last beyond pre-match though and he'll be desperate to show that Mourinho Season II is the one where United power through matches like these and show their worth as genuine title contenders.

It's very easy to see that unfolding.

Swans double figures for shock


Man Utd are all the rage after their opening victory and the market has them at just 1.39to make it two wins out of two.

The stats may show that they failed to win any of their final four away games in the Premier League last season but it was obvious at that stage that they were putting all their focus on the Europa League.

Swansea, despite last season's impressive home form down the stretch, are out at 11.00to bank all three points while the draw is 5.10.

It's hard to make much of a case for a Sigurdsson-less Swansea but there are better opportunities to cash in on the confidence running through the United camp.

History supports goals expectation


United's strong defence and Swansea's lack of attacking intent at Southampton suggests the hosts may not be able to help with the goal tally on Saturday.

However, Over 2.5 is the favourite at 1.88 while Unders is 2.04.

As for recent head-to-heads, games between this pair have featured three goals or more ineight of the last 10 meetings.

That includes a 3-1 win for United at the Liberty Stadium last season with Pogba's opener and a Zlatan Ibrahimovic double sealing the points.

Lukaku has to be followed


Zlatan and Anthony Martial both scored in their first two games for United and Romelu Lukaku must have a golden chance of joining them.

Fuelled by a Super Cup goal against Real Madrid, the Belgian bagged a double on his Premier League debut against West Ham.

Quite simply, Lukaku already has the makings of one of the summer's most important signings and punters should cash in until we see signs of a dip.

Lukaku did have a few droughts at Everton but, more commonly, bursts of scoring that once peaked with him netting in eight straight games for the Toffees.

To see him at Even money on the Sportsbook to score anytime this Saturday is very welcome indeed and it's a no-brainer punt as far as I'm concerned.

And why stop there? In Everton's second away game last season, Lukaku banged in a hat-trick at Sunderland.

Swansea are a vastly superior defensive outfit than the Black Cats but the 9/2 for two or more Lukaku goals is worth a bet too.

Recommended Bets
2pts Back Romelu Lukaku To Score @ Even money
1pt Back Romelu Lukaku To Score 2 Or More @ 9/2

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