Competition: English Premier League 2016-17
Date: Sunday, 5th February, 13:30 GMT
Stadium: Etihad Stadium.
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Manchester City v Swansea City Betting Tips Explained
Manchester City gained ground on the top four with an emphatic victory in midweek. A 4-0 thrashing at Everton and a 2-2 home draw had seen City lose ground on Premier League leaders Chelsea during January, but they stopped the rot on Wednesday night at a stadium that has become a good omen for them – the London Stadium.
City walloped West Ham United 4-0 when the two clubs met in the FA Cup in early January, and although the Eastlands outfit were unable to match that scoring total they did managed to put four past the Hammers for a victory that helped them close the gap between themselves and Chelsea to 10 points after the Blues drew at Liverpool. However, the pundits were not exactly glowing in their praise for City, insisting their wide-open play will ensure they are caught out in future.
“If Manchester City play the team they did tonight away from home against other teams, they will be found out,” said former Scotland winger Pat Nevin on BBC Radio Five Live. “They are far too open. Yaya Toure, as the holding midfielder, won’t get around enough against decent teams. West Ham are the perfect team for City – they played 4-4-2 and were destroyed in midfield. Tactically it was a mess.”
Sunday’s opponents, Swansea City, will be looking to take advantage of City’s style of play but I do not fancy their chances. The Swans have hauled themselves out of the relegation zone thanks to back-to-back wins over Liverpool and Southampton, and while it would be easy to get carried away you have to wonder if those results are party of a ‘honeymoon period’ for them under new boss Paul Clement. Southampton’s away form is pretty miserable and they caught Liverpool at a time where the Reds were experiencing their first real sticky patch of the season.
City’s form may not be brilliant right now, but they will have been buoyed by that battering of West Ham and they should ride that confidence to victory on Sunday. Do not be surprised if Swansea find the back of the net though. They have got back on the goal trail with five in their last two games and this City defence is hardly known for keeping clean sheets – they have the joint worst goals against tally in the top seven with 28 conceded in 23 games.
But while City concede at one end, they have more than enough talent at the other end to make up for those defensive deficiencies. Sergio Aguero had to settle for a place on the bench in midweek, after recovering from a knock, and in his absence the likes of Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus took their chance to shine. However, Aguero is likely to be recalled to the starting XI if he is 100% ready for Sunday, and I would not be shocked to see the Argentinian issue a response to those players looking to take his starting spot on a permanent basis.
Manchester City v Swansea City Stats
This is the 33rd meeting between Manchester City and Swansea City
Manchester City have dominated this fixture, winning 21 times, losing seven and drawing four
Manchester City are unbeaten in 10 competitive games against Swansea City – winning eight of them
Swansea City have not beaten Manchester City since March 2012 and have not beaten City in Manchester since March 1951
These two clubs have met twice already this season with Manchester City winning 2-1 in the League Cup and 3-1 in the Premier League
Manchester City vs Swansea City stats
Over 2.5 goals have been scored in all of Swansea’s last 11 league games
Both teams have scored in the last seven meetings of these clubs
Manchester City have scored exactly two goals in each of their last four home matches
Recommended bets
Manchester City to win and under 3.5 goals in the match
