Swansea City vs. Manchester United - First Round of the English Premier League - August 17th, 2013



Swansea City vs. Manchester United - Matchup and Team LogosSwansea City are hosts to Manchester United in the first round of the English Premier League (EPL) on Saturday, August 17th, 2013 at Liberty Stadium.

Swansea finished in 9th place last season and won the League Cup; Manchester United are the EPL defending champions.

The 2013/14 season has already started for Swansea as they had to play in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers. They are currently in the final qualifying round after beating Malmo FF 4-0 on aggregate.

Manchester United are coming off a 2-0 victory against Wigan Athletic in the FA Community Shield final, which was held on August 11th.

The odds for the upcoming game are as follows:

Swansea: 13/2
Draw: 7/2
Man Utd: 12/5

Manchester United are the big favourites to win on Saturday; $100 bet on the guests, if successful, yields $240 in profit. The same bet on the hosts could return $650 in profit.

Robin van Persie (1/1) and Wayne Rooney (6/4) are the favourites to score for Manchester United, while Miguel Michu (7/4) is the favourite to score for Swansea City.

Manchester United have a tough start in the league this year and will have to face Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in the first five rounds of the competition. It is important for David Moyes and his players to get all three points out of the upcoming match and start the season on a good note.

Swansea City, managed by Michael Laudrup, pleasantly surprised last season and are looking to do even better this year. The opening game vs. Manchester United could be a perfect opportunity to state their intentions for 2013/14. The biggest signing so far for Swansea in the summer transfer season is Wilfried Bony, who joined from Vitesse Arnhem for 12.232.000 £.

Last season, Swansea and Manchester United tied 1-1 at Liberty Stadium, while Manchester United won 2-1 at Old Trafford.

One of the looming questions in regards to the upcoming match is: Will Manchester United want-away striker Wayne Rooney start the match?

This should be a good game!