English Premier
2012-10-27 - Manchester City vs Swansea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 27 October 2012 - Kick Off 5:30pm
This game is live on TV
Manchester City
Roberto Mancini has had all the criticism directed at himself following Manchester City's 3-1 loss at Ajax during the week which has left their Champions League aspirations in tatters.
Mancini admitted it was his own fault on Wednesday, but I have no doubt he would have spent the last couple of days making sure his players are ready to set the record straight on Saturday and move to within a point of Chelsea who play on Sunday.
Manchester City are currently 3rd in the Premier League with 18 points to their name and they are 4 points behind Chelsea. With the top two sides clashing at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, City have a chance to move into 2nd ahead of local rivals Manchester United. The side remain a tough Premier League ground to visit as they are 3-1-0 there this season, scoring 10 goals and conceding 4.
The loss to Ajax means City are continuing their European disappointments, but that shouldn't mask the fact that they are unbeaten in the Premier League and have won 3 in a row in that competition. The team continue their solid form at home and have now won 26 of their last 28 home Premier League games.
James Milner is suspended and David Silva is an injury doubt for this game. The likes of Maicon, Javi Garcia and Jack Rodwell will be hoping to prove their fitness ahead of this game, while Mancini is likely to freshen things up.
Swansea
There were a lot of rumours that some of the senior playing staff at the Liberty Stadium were unhappy with the way Michael Laudrup was conducting himself and the poor set of results suggested this was a club in discontent. However, Laudrup has denied these rumours are true, and he was backed with a 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic at home last weekend.
That win means Swansea are back up to 10th in the Premier League table after sliding down the table in recent weeks. They have picked up a reasonable 11 points from a possible 24, although they have been hit or miss away from home. The side have a 1-0-2 record, scoring 5 goals and conceding 4, but that doesn't paint a full picture.
Swansea won 0-5 at Queens Park Rangers to open the season, but they have lost their last 2 away games at Aston Villa and Stoke City without scoring a goal. Before the win against Wigan last week, Swansea had failed to win any of 5 Premier League games and had picked up just 2 points from a possible 15 during that run.
Neil Taylor, a long term casualty, and Kyle Bartley are the only two players missing from the match day squad.
Head to Head
Manchester City thumped Swansea 4-0 here last season in Swansea's first top flight game since the early 80's, but the Swans got revenge with a 1-0 home win later in the season.
The win last season means City have extended their run to 6 straight wins over Swansea at home, although those games have been stretch out over just shy of 50 years.
Prediction
There has been something missing from the Manchester City performances this season, but they continue churning out the results in the Premier League, even if they have been caught out in Europe.
The side as a whole are a lot better than the majority of the top flight so they seem to play with a bit more freedom.
With Swansea conceding 2 goals to both Aston Villa and Stoke City, it is hard to imagine them holding out Manchester City in this game.
The fact also remains that City have scored at least 3 goals in 18 of their last 24 home games in the Premier League, including in all 3 wins at this ground this season. The side don't have a game at the weekend and I think Roberto Mancini will be demanding his team get off to a much better start then they have in recent games.
Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli can all score goals and I think they will be far too strong for a Swansea team that has conceded those 2 goals against a goal-shy team like Aston Villa. Defensively City haven't been great either, so I can't imagine them letting up even if they get into a comfortable lead.
That means the 1.92 on offer that Manchester City continue a powerful recent trend and score at least 3 goals in this one looks the best way to get involved as I don't trust the defence in terms of other potential markets.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester City 4-1 Swansea
