Louis van Gaal determined to break Swansea jinx

Louis van Gaal lost his first competitive match as Manchester United manager against Swansea City on the first day of last season and is expecting another difficult game from the Welsh side on 30 August.

Swansea went on to complete the Premier League double over United and the Dutchman is determined to take revenge at the Liberty Stadium.

"The first match that I played was against Swansea, we lost, and now I have to play the 50th match. I hope we can show our fans that we have improved because that's the main thing," Van Gaal told reporters on 28 August.

"It shall be very difficult to beat them, but we are better prepared than last year."

Towering Belgian Marouane Fellaini is available to play his first Premier League game of the season after serving a suspension but Adnan Januzaj will miss out due to injury. Van Gaal could be tempted to start Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera who made a lively contribution and scored a goal in the 4-0 Champions League qualifying win at Club Brugge.

"I started this season with Herrera on number 10, so it is possible. Adnan Januzaj is injured so he cannot play. But Fellaini is not suspended anymore, so you never know," Van Gaal said.

United have taken seven points from their first three league games of the season and lie joint third in the table despite only scoring two goals. Captain Wayne Rooney, however, bagged a hat-trick in Bruges to open his account for the campaign. Swansea are sixth with five points including a draw at champions Chelsea.