Manchester City, aiming to reclaim their Carabao Cup dominance after a five-year final drought, face a mid-table Swansea City side in what is expected to be a one-sided fourth-round encounter in Wales.
Manchester City heads to Wales for their EFL Cup fourth-round tie against Championship side Swansea City on Wednesday, in a match FotMob predicts will be “one of the more one-sided ties” of the round.
The preview suggests that “even a heavily rotated Manchester City side should see off Swansea City,” with the Premier League champions heavily favoured despite their recent loss to Aston Villa.
Pep Guardiola’s side is chasing their first final in five years in a competition they once dominated, having lifted the trophy six times in eight seasons, including four consecutive wins between 2016 and 2020. City’s depth was key during that period, but the club’s recent drought has seen Liverpool reclaim the joint-record for most wins.
The preview notes the significance of the trophy this season, stating: “After last year’s fall from grace you can be sure Guardiola and his squad would love to kickstart things by winning the EFL Cup in March 2026.”
The home side, currently 13th in the Championship, is navigating a “middling campaign so far of hit-and-miss football.” FotMob describes the Swansea squad as “a collection of could-have-beens and almost-men, once-young-hopefuls and career journeymen,” highlighting the gulf in class between the two sides.
Manchester City will be without Rodri and Rayan Aït-Nouri due to injury, while Swansea misses Ricardo Santos. Despite these absences, the analysis names returning forward Omar Marmoush as a potential matchwinner for City, citing his strong creative and scoring stats over the past year.
The definitive prediction for the encounter is a routine away victory: “Nothing too clever about an away win really: Swansea 0-3 Man City.”