After playing four consecutive Premier League activities, Swansea City will take a break from the excruciating league as the Swans host Manchester United in Carabao Cup at Liberty Stadium. Swansea City will be playing the fourth game with five fixtures in all competitions at home. Paul Clement's side has lost in three of the last four matches in Premier League. The hosts qualified for this stage of the race by beating Reading 0-2 at Madejski Stadium in September.
Manchester United head into the match at the backdrop of losing the first game in Britain after falling to a stunning 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield Town.
The only other match that the Red Devils have lost this season is the UEFA Super Cup which they lost 2-1 to Real Madrid earlier in the season. Jose Mourinho's side won the competition's title last season after beating Southampton 3-2 in the dramatic final held at Wembley Stadium. The League Cup defending champions travel to Wales to play against Swansea City after defeating Burton Albion 4-1 in the previous of the tournament.
Talking points
- Swansea City has won the competition which is in its 57th edition once. The glory came in 2012/13 where the Swans dismissed the fourth tier side, Bradford City 4-0.
- Manchester United are the reigning champions and have won the title on five occasions. Only Liverpool has won the trophy more than the Red Devils after winning it eight times while Chelsea and Aston Villa have the same tally as Manchester United.
- Swansea City has not met Manchester United in the competitions. However, the two teams have repeatedly met in Premier League where Manchester United has won three fixtures in the five encounters while Swansea has only won once. The remaining fixture ended in a stalemate.
- Four of the last five encounters between the two clubs have seen a total goal tally of at least three goals on each occasion.
- Interestingly, Swansea City beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 at Liberty Stadium ten days ago, but Manchester United lost 2-1 to the Terriers during the weekend.
Team news
Swansea City will be missing Wilfried Bony and Kyle Bartley due to injuries.
The duo also missed the weekend's 1-2 defeat to Leicester City, but Paul Clement will be happy to see Leroy Fer back, who served a one-match ban against the Foxes. The hosts are expected to line up their most potent team possible as they try to win the competition for the second time since its conception.
Manchester United will be making the trip to Wales with several key players sidelined for the match.
Eric Bailly, Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini, Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Marcos Rojo are automatic absentees for the match due to injuries. The sad news is that Phil Jones also joins the same long list after suffering an injury at John Smith's Stadium during the weekend defeat.
Traditionally, big Premier League clubs like featuring fringe and young players in the competition, but Mourinho has the habit of taking all fixtures serious by fielding strong teams.
However, the Portuguese tactician could make a slight rotation to his regular squad by bringing in players like Matteo Darmian, Sergio Romero, Luke Shaw, and Daley Blind. Victor Nilsson Lindeloef, who replaced the injured Phil Jones over the weekend, will undoubtedly make his full debut for Manchester United since joining this summer.
