Manchester United will be starting the defence of their Premier league title with an away match at the Liberty stadium against Swansea city. This will be one of the toughest matches because Swansea have had a good home record, while the club finished ninth in the Premier league against all odds. The Welsh club have not rested on their laurels. They have signed as much as seven players in the summer transfer window including a record signing in the form of Wilfried Bony. The Ivory Coast international has cost the club £ 12 million and he comes on the back of a goalscoring season in Dutch football.
United have been looking average in the pre-season friendly matches so far because they have struggled for consistency. Midfielder Michael Carrick, who had an extraordinary campaign last time around, has said that this is the time that the club starts looking at the first match of the season. He believes that United will be in the best possible shape by the time they take on Swansea on the opening day of the season. Carrick almost managed to win the PFA awards last season. He was one of the unsung heroes of a brilliant campaign in which United won the 20th Premier league title.
“Now is the time when you really start thinking about that first game of the season. We’ve been back from the main part of he tour for a few days now and everyone is focused on that first game. It’s about being ready for every game though and Tuesday’s will be a good opportunity for some of the lads that haven’t played too much recently and also for the lads that have played to get some more minutes in,” said the former Tottenham midfielder Carrick to the official site of United.