Swansea City v Manchester City: The Opposition

Manchester City travel to south Wales for a repeat of their 2019 FA Cup clash with Swansea as they aim for a place in the quarter final of the FA Cup.

The blues came back from a 2-0 half-time deficit to win the match 3-2 as City marched onwards towards Wembley and a historic domestic treble. The Swans will no doubt be looking for a modicum of revenge when the two teams meet this evening.

Form

Both teams go into the match on the back of excellent unbeaten runs. While City have won the last 14 fixtures in all competitions, Swansea are also on a run of their own. It is 10 matches since the Swans were last defeated – a 2-0 loss at Derby County back in the middle of December left them in 4^th place in the Championship, 7 points behind leaders Norwich.

Since then, Swansea have closed the gap to just two points, thanks to a brilliant run that has seen them win six of their last eight league matches, including a 2-0 victory over leaders Norwich in their last game.

Danger Men

Andre Ayew and Jamal Lowe lead the Swans goal-scoring charts with 9 apiece. With 49, Ayew has had the most shots at goal compared to Lowe’s 36, however the latter has a better shot accuracy (67%) and goal conversion rate (25%).

On the assists, Jake Bidewell tops the chart with 6 from 29 games, however his pass conversion only sits at 67%, having completed 519 of his attempted 779 passes. The Swansea pass-master in Matt Grimes, who has attempted 1,512 passes in 28 matches, completing 1,191, giving him a pass conversion of 79%. Of those passes, two have been goal assists, however he has also scored 4 goals this season, making him the third top scorer for the club.

How Did They Get Here?

Swansea put out fellow Championship side Rotherham in the third round, winning 3-1 at Aesseal New York Stadium. Swansea lead 2-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Conor Hourihane and Matt Grimes, and despite a goal from Freddie Ladapo, Swansea sealed their progress with a third, courtesy of Jay Fulton, who had only been on the field for a few minutes.

The fourth round saw them drawn at home to Nottingham Forest, and Swansea dispatched their struggling Championship rivals with ease. Again the Swans were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to Liam Cullen and Grimes. Once more, a fightback was threatened when Forest pulled a goal back when Anthony Knockaert scored, but Swansea were not to be denied a home tie with City, and put the tie to bed with further goals from Grimes and Cullen, before Ollie Cooper finished Forest off with a fifth.

Who’s The Boss?

Steve Cooper has been in charge at Swansea since 2019 and has led the club to third in the table this season. Cooper spent his short playing career in Wales, starting at Wrexham, but failed to make any appearances. He later represented the New Saints, Rhyl and Bangor City.

Cooper is a Liverpool supporter, and is the son of retired referee Keith Cooper.