Preview | Swansea City v Bristol City
Swansea City will look to book their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup when they host Bristol City in tonight’s third-round replay.
Russell Martin’s side head into the Swansea.com Stadium clash buoyed by their 3-1 win at Sunderland on the weekend, although the quick turnaround offers them little help with kick-off within 72 hours of their return to SA1 from a near 700-mile round trip.
The Robins were also victorious on Saturday, beating Birmingham 4-2 on home turf to claim a first win at Ashton Gate in nine attempts.
Both sides will be keen to build on those victories and generate momentum by setting up a home meeting with Chesterfield or West Brom in the next round.
Team news
Head coach Martin has suggested he will make changes for the rematch with the Robins given how much travelling his side did last week.
That may mean that the likes of Luke Cundle, Olivier Ntcham and Nathan Wood get a chance to impress.
There are no injury concerns for the Swans, with Liam Walsh nearing a return from his Achilles injury, while Morgan Whittaker is again cup-tied.
Pre-match views
Russell Martin: “It is a game we want to win, I think winning is a habit and it’s a good one to get into.
“We have won two of our last three in the league and have strung together a run of good performances and the challenge will be to continue that.
“I think both teams would probably tell you it is a game they could have done without after a busy period, and we know we had an opportunity to ensure we did not need a replay given we had the lead after a dominant first half in the game at their place.
“With all the travelling we have done we will have to see how everyone recovers, but it may well be a chance for some guys to get minutes.
“Our substitutes brought some good energy at Sunderland on the weekend and those guys may get a chance to start and show us what they can do.
“The team has been performing well but every time you pull on the shirt it is an opportunity for us to learn and improve and we will be going out there to win and try and set up another home tie in the next round.”
Nigel Pearson: “We are disappointed with some aspects in terms of conceding two goals against Birmingham but I am not going to get picky about that now - the big thing was winning.
“We have been quite clinical in front of goal – we scored four goals and could have scored more. It was a timely win for us and we go forward to Tuesday’s game with a bit of confidence.”
Remember the last time?
Second-half goals from Michael Obafemi, Cyrus Christie and Joel Piroe saw Swansea City come from behind to complete a first league double over Bristol City since 1958 when the Robins last visited the Swansea.com Stadium in February 2022.
Russell Martin’s side had trailed at the break to an Andreas Weimann’s strike, but they showed great character to battle their way back into the game and claim three points that moved them above the visitors.
Obafemi showed great anticipation to finish from close range early in the second half before Christie bundled in his first goal for the Swans, and his first anywhere since June 2020, to put them ahead.
And Joel Piroe sealed the win in stoppage time as he calmly fired a low strike into the bottom corner for his 14th goal of the season.
Prime numbers
1 – Swansea City have lost just one of their last eight meetings with Bristol City.
10 – Joel Piroe’s goal at Sunderland was his 10th of the season, putting him just three short of the tally he had at this stage last term.
24 – Swansea City have scored the first goal in 32 games in all competitions under Russell Martin. They have won 24 of those games, drawing five and only losing three.