Blue side of EFL Cup: Man City’s against Swans, Chelsea’s boost ahead of Wolves

Manchester City will look to avoid a surprise elimination from the EFL Cup as they face Championship side Swansea City in Wednesday night’s fourth-round tie.

Pep Guardiola’s men head into the clash seeking redemption after a narrow 1–0 loss to Aston Villa in the Premier League, while the hosts aim to build momentum following their 2–1 victory over Norwich City at the weekend. That triumph — Swansea’s first in nearly a month — saw Zan Vipotnik net both goals, lifting the Welsh outfit to 13th place in the Championship table and just three points shy of the playoff zone.

Under Alan Sheehan, Swansea have enjoyed a solid run in this season’s EFL Cup, needing three wins to reach this stage. Along the way, they’ve seen off Crawley Town, Plymouth Argyle, and Nottingham Forest, and will now test themselves against one of English football’s most dominant forces.

The Swans have fond memories of this competition, having famously lifted the trophy in 2013 with a 5–0 thrashing of Bradford City in the final. A victory over City would evoke echoes of that glorious campaign and provide a major confidence boost. However, history is not on their side — Swansea have lost their last seven meetings with the Citizens, including a 2–1 defeat in the third round of this competition back in 2016.

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City, meanwhile, are still licking their wounds from the weekend setback at Villa Park, where Matty Cash’s 19th-minute strike proved decisive. Guardiola’s side sit fifth in the Premier League with 16 points from nine games, six adrift of league leaders Arsenal, and will be eager to regain momentum on all fronts.

In Europe, the defending champions have taken two wins from their opening three Champions League fixtures and cruised past Huddersfield Town 2–0 in their only previous EFL Cup outing this season.

Boasting eight League Cup triumphs — their most recent coming in 2021 — City remain strong contenders for this year’s crown. The statistics are firmly in their favor: the Citizens have claimed victory in 26 of their 37 encounters with Swansea and have not lost to the Welsh club since March 2012.

Talking about Chelsea, the most important thing is that Liam Delap is expected to be part of Chelsea’s traveling squad for their Carabao Cup fourth-round meeting with Wolverhampton, with manager Enzo Maresca confirming that the young striker is ready to make his long-awaited return after more than two months out.

A starting role for Delap would be unexpected, but his inclusion comes as a timely boost for Maresca, who has been without the forward since August due to a hamstring problem.

Chelsea could rest several key names for the trip, with Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, and Joao Pedro all having battled fitness concerns in recent weeks. With a high-profile Premier League clash against Tottenham on the horizon, rotation is firmly on Maresca’s agenda — a move that could offer opportunities to some of his fringe players.

“Yes, we need to rotate,” Maresca explained. “We need to protect the players because if we go with the same XI, we are going to struggle during the season. We probably will make some changes against Wolves. I don’t know how many, but we will make changes.”

As for Delap’s return, the Chelsea boss added: “Liam is available for the game. He completed the whole session with us yesterday with no problems and he is available for tomorrow. We have to be careful with Liam. Ninety minutes? No. He’s been out for two months so he needs to be gradually brought back up to 100 per cent.”

While Maresca looks to carefully manage his squad’s workload, the fixture also carries weight for Wolves boss Vitor Pereira, who is under pressure after a poor start to the campaign and desperately needs a result to steady his team’s faltering season.

ENGLAND LEAGUE CUP ROUND 4

Tuesday

Grimsby - Brentford 0-5 (0-3)

/Jensen 22, Lewis-Potter 26, Nelson 43, Carvalho 54 pen, Collins 75/

Wycombe - Fulham 1-1 (4-5 after penalties)

/Woodrow 4 - King 48/

Wrexham - Cardiff 1-2 (0-1)

/Moore 52 - Salech 13, Fish 71/

Wednesday

22.45: (1.42) Arsenal (5.00) Brighton (7.00)

22.45: (1.62) Liverpool (4.35) Crystal Palace (4.90)

22.45: (13.0) Swansea (7.00) Man.City (1.20)

22.45: (4.60) Wolverhampton (4.05) Chelsea (1.70)

23.00: (1.70) Newcastle (3.60) Tottenham (5.30)

***odds are subject to change***