Swansea City travel to Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday tea-time as Carlos Carvalhal’s side hope to spoil the party at the Etihad.
We bring you all the team news, manager quotes, pre-match stats and highlights video ahead of Sunday’s 4:30pm kick-off.
Message Forum match thread here
Luciano Narsingh is definitely out after suffering an ankle injury during last Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Everton.
Renato Sanches is back in Swansea but he’s also unavailable due to a lack of match fitness.
There was no mention of Mike van der Hoorn after he picked up a shoulder problem at West Brom, but he was on the bench against Everton, so I’m assuming he could be back in the starting eleven as Carvalhal will surely revert back to a 5-4-1 against the Champions.
Sergio Aguero is out for the rest of the season after minor knee surgery, Fernandinho is suspended and John Stones is doubtful due to a groin problem.
Other injuries:
Benjamin Mendy (knee) is a long-term injury and is building up match fitness so he’s still unavailable.
Manager Pep Guardiola is unlikely to make many changes, possibly introducing one or two younger players to the bench, but the challenge of seeking a record points total (95 to beat) will surely mean that they’ll be going all out again for the victory, despite the title being won already with five games to spare.
“We played very well against Everton. The performance was at the same level as when we beat Arsenal and West Ham. “We were well organised offensively and defensively and we played with big character.
“This kind of performance makes me feel positive about the future.
“If we continue to play like that for the rest of the season, we will win more points.”
“In the past when I won the league early, the next few games were not good. But a good argument to keep going is the records. The important thing is to win the title but maybe the records can help us be focused against the teams fighting to avoid relegation. “I didn’t come here to change English football. I am happy with the way we try and play and winning the titles. Thank you for your congratulations. If the people enjoy watching us – especially our fans and people who love football – that’s the best.”
R | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Form |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Manchester City | 33 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 93 | 25 | +68 | 87 | WWWWLW |
17 | Swansea | 33 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 27 | 46 | -19 | 33 | LWDLDD |
Fabianski,
Naughton, van der Hoorn, Fernandez, Mawson, Olsson,
A. Ayew, King, Clucas, Carroll
J. Ayew.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70GsIF2R1e8
Referee: Craig Pawson
Assistants: Stuart Burt, Constantine Hatzidakis
Fourth official: Paul Tierney
We’re playing the Champions at home, a Manchester City side that are looking to break the record for being the first ever Premier League club to get 100+ points in a season. In their final 5 games, they need to win 4 and draw the other to achieve that. Pep might make changes, but they’ll still be very strong, and I can’t see us getting anything other that quite a heavy beating.
Manchester City 3-0 Swansea City