Championship Swansea host Manchester City in the FA Cup

Swansea City host Premier League giants Manchester City at the Liberty Stadium aiming to cause an FA Cup shock and book their place in the semi-finals.

The Swans, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, are currently 15th in the Championship and have had been in a mixed form this season and will need to summon one of their greatest performances if they are to stand a chance of advancing to the final four of the cup.

The Citizens will want to progress through to the next round of this competition as they have eye on the prize they haven’t won since the 2011 and have not reached the final since 2013.

Swansea’s cup run started in the third round where they faced fellow Championship side Aston Villa. Swansea had a fantastic start as Courtney Baker-Richardson opened the scoring for the Welsh team in the second minute of the match. Nathan Dyer doubled the lead with a crisp finish shortly after half-time. The Swans’ place in round four was sealed when Jay Fulton tapped in the third in the closing stages.

In the fourth round they squared off against League One side Gillingham at the Liberty Stadium. A first-half brace from Oliver McBurnie inspired the Swans to win the game 4-1 with goals from Bersant Celina and Barrie McKay completed an overall dominant even though Gillingham tried to come back with a goal from Josh Rees early on in the second-half.

Swansea was at home yet again for the next round of the FA Cup. They faced another Championship side in Brentford, with a hard task ahead for both teams with only one place in the quarter-final awaiting for either team. Ollie Watkins gave Brentford the lead in the first-half as he slotted the boal past Swansea’s goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt. A second half own goal from Luke Daniels started a fantastic great second-half from the Welsh club. Goals from Daniel James, Bersant Celina and George Byers topped a highly entertaining game for both teams with the match ending in a 4-1 victory for the Swans.

The fantastic Manchester City were hosts to Championship side Rotherham. The Sky Blues asserted their dominance in the game with a high scoreline of 7-0 reflecting their team unity. The Premier League champions took a three goal lead into half-time through strikers from Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden, added by Semi Ayaji’s own goal, before they netted four more in the second-half thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez, Nicolas Otamendi and substitute Leroy Sane.

In the fourth round Manchester City hosted Burnley and eased past the Premier League side. An early goal from Jesus gave the Citizens the lead going into half-time. Matej Vydra had the chance to put the vistors level as he was gifted a chance when Otamendi made a huge mistake but fired his shot wide. Goals from Bernardo Silva, Kevin de Bruyne an own goal from Kevin Long and a fantastically executed penalty secure the win for City and a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup draw.

In the fifth round, Manchester City faced a trip away from home to Newport County. City were dominant the whole game but, were unlucky not to score in the first-half. In the second half, the Sky Blues began to show their true colours after they opened the scoring in the 51st minute through a lovely goal from Leroy Sane. Phil Foden scored the second of the game with 15 minutes left of the match, although Padraig Amond pulled one back the Exiles. Foden respond straight away with a strike a minute later and Mahrez scored the fourth to secure City’s place in the quarter-final.

Swansea boss Graham Potter, assessed his season thus far all the good and bad of the season with also the inspiration of Ostersund v Arsenal with the game being similar in scenarios. He said:

“I suppose it’s similar. You have to learn from your experiences, they were invaluable. That game was last-32 in the Europa League over two legs which is slightly different. This is one off in a competition that is known for historic upsets and dream scenarios can happen so you cling to that. But it’s completely different opposition.

“It’s been good, tough, hard and enjoyable, all of the things you expect. It’s a big family move when you move from another country. Then you try to settle in to a new club and try and be competitive at the start of a tough season with all of the turbulence that goes with relegation from the Premier League. We’ve done some things well, we’re at the start of a process and I think supporters recognise we’ve got a group of players on the pitch who want to play for Swansea City.”