Shrewd Swans should stay out of trouble

For a long time sensible Swansea were showcased as an efficient example of how to run a mid-table Premier League club and after a brief gallivant on the wild side conservative City appear back on track.

This will be Swansea's seventh consecutive Premier League campaign but last term's 15th place was their worst position since they were promoted and the first time the Welsh outfit have looked in danger of losing their top-flight status.

Swansea spent 128 days in the relegation zone and used four different managers with Paul Clement finally succeeding where Francesco Guidolin, Bob Bradley and caretaker Alan Curtis failed by bringing many more ups than downs to the Valleys.

Nine of Swansea's 12 wins last season came with Clement at the helm, which was an impressive return considering those victories came in just 18 matches and he arrived with the club seemingly in chaos following Bradley's troubled 84-day stint.

Clement, an excellent coach who worked alongside Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, Paris St-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, spent extensive time working on Swansea's defensive structure alongside assistant Claude Makelele and was not afraid to tinker with the formation, finishing the season with a midfield diamond that has been carried over into the summer friendlies.

Central to the diamond was Gylfi Sigurdsson, who finished third in the assists table with 13 behind Christian Eriksen (15) and Kevin De Bruyne (18). He has been the subject of interest elsewhere with an eye-watering £50m mentioned as a possible transfer fee.

The potential loss of Sigurdsson would be a blow but Swansea's transfer strategy looks in much better shape since Dan Altman, an American data analytics expert, was brought in. Midfield pass master Roque Mesa was a bargain signing from Las Palmas and Chelsea's Tammy Abraham looks a shrewd loan choice.

Abraham scored 23 Sky Bet Championship goals last season and has the mobility to play alongside target-man Fernando Llorente, who hit 15 Premier League goals, should Clement stick with a 4-4-2 diamond that limits opportunities for his numerous wingers.

Despite that, many are tipping the Swans for another season of struggle but City have always beaten the 40-point Premier League mark with finishes of 11-9-12-8-12-15 and something just below their 11th-place average is anticipated.

Key stat
Swansea picked up 29 points in 2017 - the eighth-best record in the Premier League.