Paul Clement believes Swansea City can become the latest club to expose Manchester United’s defensive problems and cause an upset in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.
United suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield on Saturday which was partly due to the Terriers taking advantage of United’s hastily-assembled centre-back partnership.
Phil Jones had limped off with the game at 0-0 and his replacement Victor Lindelof was directly responsible for what proved to be the winning goal.
Jones will be absent for the game at the Liberty Stadium and with Eric Bailly still unavailable, manager Jose Mourinho will have to decide whether to give Lindelof another chance or promote 19-year-old Axel Tuanzebe.
Speaking ahead of the fourth-round tie, Swans manager Clement said: “We’ve looked at the Huddersfield game and I’ve spoken about that with the players. I’ve told them any team can be vulnerable at any moment, and we’ve got to make sure we do our bit right.
“They can’t make massive changes because they’ve got injury issues. But we know that whoever they put on the pitch they’re going to be good.”
United beat Swansea 4-0 in the Premier League in August, scoring three times in the last ten minutes, and Swansea go into the game on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Leicester on Saturday.
But Clement has also admitted the make-up of his squad is lopsided, with depth in some areas such as midfield, but weaknesses in others. It will, he says, be something he has to soldier on with until the January transfer window when he plans to wheel and deal.
“I’ve got the players I have, but the balance is slightly off,” said Clement, who confirmed Spanish midfielder Roque Mesa will start against United for only the fourth time since his £11m move from Las Palmas.
“We’re potentially a little bit heavier in midfield than we would have liked and a little short at the back, particularly at left-back.
“If there is an issue with Martin (Olsson) there, who would be able to step in? You’d be asking a player who’s not a natural left-back, or you go down into the next level at your club.
“But I’ve just got to get on with it and maybe then we can address some of the balance issues in January.”