Swansea City play Manchester City in the early FA Cup fifth round tie at 5.30pm GMT on Wednesday at the Liberty stadium. The last cup game is fresh in the minds of Swansea supporters after two disastrous refereeing decisions robbed them of a semi final spot at Wembley.

Steve Cooper refused to be drawn on the last encounter during his pre match press conference stating I wasn't here for the game, a lot of the players were not here either, it doesn't matter, we dont dwell in the past here, we look ahead, we plan and nothing changes, regardless of the opposition Thats true but the big club bias was on show that day and we have covered that bias on here on several news stories, and psychologically Andre Marriner, the referee that day displayed to everyone his weaknesses and appalling decision making. Marriner is again officiating this game, this time as fourth official and cannot make such a dramatic impact as he did last time around, but people watching the game should be aware that this is a weak decision maker when it comes to officiating. His integrity too off the pitch has been called in to question, especially when he was last in Indonesia in the countries red light district, pictured with numerous young girls, in less than flattering poses.

That aside, and the watchful eye swans fans will be keeping on Marriner, Steve Cooper has been his usual professional self going in to this game. These are games every player wants to be involved in, thats natural, and we trust every player selected in every game. This isn't about me, or anyone else, there is no hierarchy here, we are one group, one unit, and thats how we operate True to form he was equally as thoughtful as the national press seemed determined to get a Phil Foden story out of Cooper. Foden was in Cooper's England side that won the world cup in 2017, so the more dramatic tabloid journalists were clearly looking for a story. Even local reporters mistakenly tried to lead Cooper to answers they wanted. Once again it failed, Talk Sport's Ian Abrahams pathetically asking England related questions that have no place in this FA Cup tie.

Something that did shine through in the press conference was Cooper's reluctance to be drawn on his team selection, his answers however indicate a strong side will take to the field in the 5.30pm kick off. That will please swans fans and no doubt majority owners in the USA with the scent of some real money coming to the victors in this game. Far more beneficial to the swans of course compared to the oil driven money of Manchester City.

TEAM NEWS

Manchester City
Sergio Aguero continues his recovery from a positive coronavirus test, but the game comes slightly too soon for him to make his return to the fold for the first time in nine matches. However, in his pre-match press conference, Pep Guardiola revealed that our record goalscorer is feeling better 'day by day', and was able to take some part in Monday's training session. Manchester City do rate this competition highly as well as the League Cup, both are major trophies with European opportunity the following season. Swansea City Wales most successful side in recent decades found this out when they competed in Europe after winning the trophy under the guidance of Michael Laudrup.

Swansea City
Swans manager Steve Cooper is hopeful that midfielder Korey Smith will be fit in time for the last-16 encounter after an injury lay-off. New signing Paul Arriola could also be in contention, but goalkeeper Ben Hamer is cup-tied and will be unavailable. This could be an opportunity to start Jordan Morris though, its hard to get inside Cooper's mind for this one, most people will expect Jamal Lowe and Andre Ayew to start with a similar midfield to last Fridays victory over Norwich. At the back he could be a bit more flexible with a decent number of very competent defenders to choose from.

Cooper's Quotes
"There's always something to lose. Football is a competition - you have to compete. The mentality we are trying to instil here is a competitive one and a winning one. I don't think you can have a day off from that if you really believe in setting that standard. Wednesday will be no different. It's a tough challenge but I am not going to every day stand in front of the players and talk about raising standards and belief, and then come to a game and down tools and see it as a free hit. I think that would be wrong. If we are playing well, if we are doing good things, we have to be absolutely paranoid about keeping it going,
that's the mentality that I want."

Pep Guardiola Quotes
Joel Latibeaudiere was happy was a nice guy who trained with us many times, incredible person, all these guys from the second team their attitudes are fantastic. I'm looking forward to seeing him and congratulate him. Swansea have a tradition of good managers, Michael Laudrup, Roberto Martinez, Mr Potter, Brighton manager - now I realise how good he is and we suffer a lot when we play him. We were 2-0 down, our third goal was offside. It was a difficult game, I don't expect a different game when we suffered there two seasons ago to go through. I know Swansea are consistent, score, defensively, don't concede chances, so solid in their formation, physically strong, they have the quality to play upfront and in the middle. Will be an incredibly difficult test. We have to do a good performance. We suffered against Cheltenham, 1-0 down 80 minutes, I don't expect a different game tomorrow.

The game will be shown on BT Sport LIVE from 5pm UK time and is also available in certain countries on BT Sport ultimate. Fans with access to DAZN 1 Movistar and DAZN Gratis along with ESPN+ in the USA WatchESPN in Australia and Kayo Sports can also watch the game LIVE

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