Ahead of Sunday’s encounter with Manchester United, Read Swansea asked United fan & editor of Read Man Utd James Browning some questions about the Red Devils, the Swans and everything in-between.

What did you make of United last season? And can you improve this season?

We did our job last season; to qualify for the top four. Our start to the season was woeful – at this point, we were still winless having lost 4-0 to MK Dons and would go into the weekend to draw 0-0 with Burnley at Turf Moor. It’s fair to say that the start to the season was beyond frustrating but to finish it as we did, with wins against Spurs, City and Liverpool was brilliant.

I fully expect us to improve this season and as a matter of fact, we have already, being one of just six unbeaten teams in the league (with Swansea being another). I’d say that I’m 100% confident of a top three finish.

Is Louis van Gaal the man to take you forward?

Absolutely. He’s employed until the end of 2016/17 and I fancy him to extend that contract by a year as well. He’s putting strict discipline into the players – the sort that completes a rebuild so that when the new manager, who we’ll be looking for a longer-term spell from, comes in, his instructions are followed to the letter… Pep Guardiola, I’m looking at you.

How has your summer transfer business been?

Excellent. Many United fans will disagree with me and say that we should have gone for Otamendi, but I trust Louis van Gaal’s judgement. It is perhaps frustrating to see Pedro already doing well at Chelsea but again, I have complete confidence in Louis van Gaal. Memphis is the kind of player who can turn a game on its head in seconds, Romero is yet to concede a Premier League goal, Darmain finally looks like we’ve replaced Gary Neville… and the ‘Schmidfield’ were exceptional buys. Schneiderlin is the box-to-box we’ve been looking for and Bastian’s experience could be absolutely pivotal in the Champions League. I have a feeling we’ll have one more come in before 6pm on Tuesday, too.

How do you view Swansea? And how will they do this season?

Swansea are one of my favourite teams to watch and I enjoy when they do well. I always look forward to United-Swansea games but am also slightly nervous going into them. Especially at the Liberty Stadium, it would be jumping the gun to fully expect three points against the Swans so Sunday’s game should be another brilliant spectacle.

I can’t see anything worse than 10th place for Swansea this season – with Stoke and Palace also looking strong, there’s more competition in the lower part of the top half of the table but 8th-10th should be where the Swans finish.

What are your thoughts on Garry Monk?

Considering how quickly he threw himself at the managerial job, he’s done magnificently. I’m really impressed with his style of play, the respect he commands and how humble he is to go with it. I think Monk will be a long-standing manager who stays at Swansea or at least in the Premier League for another 5-6 years as a minimum.

What Swansea player(s) will United need to be wary of?

It goes without saying that Bafetimbi Gomis is the one to watch. He’s a monster of a man but also shows great movement and awareness – if Swansea net against us I expect it to be through him. Montero will give Darmian a challenge but he’s one of the best right-backs in the world so I’m confident he’ll be able to handle the threat. The same goes for Shaw and Ayew – Shaw’s not world-class but he is a machine and is having a wonderful season so far.

And what United player(s) will trouble Swansea the most?

Wayne Rooney and Marouane Fellaini. Rooney netted three times against Brugge on Wednesday night to silence his critics and I fancy him to net again on Sunday to get off the mark in the league. It’s undeniable that he’s one of the Premier League’s finest players and he’s got a lot to do this season, leading the line.

I can’t see Fellaini starting the match, as Herrera was good in midweek and Januzaj’s also been getting a run of games. However, Marouane will probably get what could end up being a decisive 20-30 minutes and he’s a danger to any team.

If you could take one Swansea player to Old Trafford, who would it be?

Gomis. In a 4-3-3, I’d be happy to let Rooney drop into attacking midfield to let Gomis play alone up front. He’s the right kind of player for that system and his physicality would suit us well because we’ve not got an overwhelming amount of it in our attack.

How will the game unfold? Prediction?

Although I do see Swansea as perhaps the greatest goal threat we’ve faced so far, more so than a rusty Spurs on the first day of the season, I fancy Sergio Romero to continue his Premier League shutout. One goal in either half for United would do the trick so I’ll go for Swansea 0-2 Manchester United (Rooney, Herrera) .