What to Watch For: Citizens Travel to Swansea for EFL Cup Match on Wednesday

SWANSEA, WALES – MAY 15: Angel Rangel of Swansea City closes down Sergio Aguero of Manchester City during the Barclays Premier League match between Swansea City and Manchester City at the Liberty Stadium on May 15, 2016 in Swansea, Wales.

After a convincing 4-0 victory on Saturday vs Bournemouth in league play, Manchester City travel to Swansea, Wales on Wednesday to kick off their campaign in the EFL Cup tournament.

The EFL Cup, formerly Capital One Cup, is a trophy that Manchester City would like to keep hold of after beating Liverpool in last year’s final. Their opponent on Wednesday are Premier League counterparts Swansea City.

Swansea, managed by Francesco Guidolin currently sit in 15th place in the EPL table and are coming off a 1-0 defeat at Southampton on Sunday. The Swans entered the tournament last round and defeated League One side Peterborough United 3-1 away from home.

Wednesday will be the first of two meetings between the Swans and Citizens in the next four days, as Pep Guardiola‘s side faces Swansea in the league on Saturday.
With the two matches in the next four days, Guardiola and Guidolin will try their best not to give anything away to their opponent. Do not be surprised if Guardiola plays some youth players on Wednesday to give them a go with the first team.

Want your voice heard? Join the Man City Square team!

According to the Manchester Evening News, Guardiola has “taken five youth players on the trip” to Swansea for tomorrow’s EFL Cup draw. 17-year-old wonderkid Brahim Diaz leads the youth, with Pablo Maffeo, Angelino, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Aleix Garcia also traveling with the team.

It isn’t definite whether or not the youth players will feature in the starting line-up, especially with players like Vincent Kompany and Fernando also expecting to play after recovering from injuries. Sergio Aguero will serve the final match of his three-match ban, so it looks like Kelechi Iheanacho will start-up front.

Swansea is expected to start some of their Premier League regulars, but Glyfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente are two players to watch.

Sigurdsson, an Icelandic international, is what makes the Swansea attacks click. He runs the offense and is always making smart passes in midfield. He has the ability to score from set-pieces and is always finding ways to help his teammates score.

Llorente, had solid spells at Athletic Bilbao and Juventus before ending up at Sevilla. Scoring only four goals in 23 appearances, the Spaniard joined Swansea before the season on a two-year contract. He can be a threat in the air with his head, so Manchester City defenders better be weary of Llorente on free and corner kicks.

Overall, Manchester City are on a roll to start their domestic and European campaigns and I do not see them falling away from home on Wednesday. Possibly we could even see the Manchester City players sporting their new third kit for Wednesday’s match. My prediction is a 3-0 Manchester City victory which will send the Citizens into the next round of the EFL Cup.