On Wednesday, October 29, the Swansea.com Stadium will host the fourth round Swansea vs Manchester City Carabao Cup tie.
Championship side Swansea will look to use cup momentum and home support, while fifth-placed Manchester City must balance rotation, form recovery, and injury management on the road.
Match Details
Swansea.com Stadium
Swansea, Wales
Wednesday, October 29
19:45 GMT
Cup Momentum and Underdog Confidence
Swansea’s cup form has been one of their highlights this season. They came back from 2-0 down to beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 in the previous round, showing belief and resilience.
That recent success gives them confidence heading into the Swansea vs Manchester City match – teams in the lower divisions often treat these ties as opportunities to make statements. If Swansea can replicate that intensity and catch City off balance, they could turn this into a spicy test.
City, though heavy favourites, cannot underestimate a motivated lower-league side – especially on a night where they may not deploy their full complement of stars. The psychological edge could lean to Swansea early on.
Rotation and Opportunity for Fringe Players
Pep Guardiola is expected to rotate heavily for the Swansea vs Manchester City fixture. He is considering resting Erling Haaland after the striker sustained a knock against Aston Villa.
Omar Marmoush looks likely to start in a match of this kind. Pep confirmed Khusanov is fit and “set to play a part” against Swansea, as is Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Those faces give City a different profile from their usual XI, and they also make rotation less risky, because the players replacing regular starters are capable, tested signings rather than raw academy talent.
If Guardiola leans on different players on the night, City’s second string will still present a high technical and tactical challenge for Swansea.
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Tactical Roots and Set-Piece Threats
City’s dominance often comes through detailed build-up and movement, but against a well-drilled underdog side, set pieces and direct transitions may become vital. Guardiola has acknowledged that set-piece play and direct strategies (long throw-ins, corners) are tactical ingredients increasingly relevant in modern matches.
Swansea, playing at home, will likely aim to maximise those moments – corners, wide play, second balls. Disrupting City’s rhythm with quick counters or physical duels could be their best tool.
If Swansea can keep things tight defensively and force City into scrappy sequences, they might ride momentum and frustrate their visitors.
Swansea vs Manchester City Injuries
Swansea injuries: Ricardo Santos
Manchester City injuries: Rodri, Erling Haaland
Swansea vs Manchester City Predicted Lineups
Alan Sheehan will be looking to make another statement win in the Carabao Cup, and doing it against Pep Guardiola would be the best way, and he will feild an XI he trusts to do the job. Here, we look at the Swansea vs Manchester City predicted lineups:
Swansea predicted XI: Andrew Fisher, Josh Key, Kaelan Casey, Cameron Burgess, Ishe Samuels-Smith, Goncalo Franco, Ethan Galbraith, Manuel Benson, Malick Yalcouye, Ji-Sung Eom, Zan Vipotnik
Manchester City predicted XI: James Trafford, Matheus Nunes, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Nico O’Reilly, Nico Lewis, Oscar Bobb, Mateo Kovacic, Nico Gonzalez, Jeremy Doku, Omar Marmoush
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / NurPhoto
Recording Date: 21.10.2025