Played
January 23, 2013 2:45 PM EST
Liberty Stadium — Swansea
Referee: C. Foy
Attendance: 19506
January 23, 2013 2:45 PM EST
Liberty Stadium — Swansea
Referee: C. Foy
Attendance: 19506
League Cup Preview: Swansea - Chelsea
Rafa Benitez's side has been in good form on the road but faces a big challenge when it travels to south Wales after Michu and Danny Graham handed the Swans a first-leg lead.
By Ewan Roberts
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
|
SWANSEA
 Tremmel Rangel, Monk, Williams, Davies Ki, Britton Hernandez, De Guzman, Routledge Michu |
CHELSEA
 Cech Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Cahill, Cole Ramires, Lampard Oscar, Mata, Hazard Torres |
Swansea has a relatively clean bill of health, though will be without Kemy Agustien and Neil Taylor (both ankle).
Central defender Chico (knee) is a major doubt for the game, so Garry Monk – who started against Stoke at the weekend – is expected to continue in his absence.
Michael Laudrup has selected Gerhard Tremmel in all of Swansea's League Cup ties so far and the German keeper should start again on Wednesday night.
Rafa Benitez remains without Nigerian duo Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel, both of whom are on Africa Cup of Nations duty.
David Luiz is unlikely to feature, having picked up an ankle injury which ruled him out of Chelsea's 2-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday.
Oriol Romeu is the only long-term absentee, but the unavailability of the Spaniard as well as Mikel means the 34-year-old Frank Lampard is likely to start his fourth game in just 11 days.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
Swansea has lost just one of its last nine games, a 1-0 defeat against Arsenal in the FA Cup third-round replay.
- The Welsh club hasn't been beaten at home since Dec. 8, and has lost just twice at the Liberty Stadium all season, while only the top three and Arsenal have scored more goals at home than Swansea (22).
- Michael Laudrup's side holds this season's Premier League record for the most passes leading to a goal, with 28 passes preceding Michu's strike against Norwich earlier this season.
- Swansea is yet to lose a game in which it has scored first, winning 13 out of the 15 games in which it has opened the scoring this season.
- Swansea is 90 minutes away from a first ever appearance in a major cup final (having lost in the semifinals of the FA Cup in 1926 and 1964), and could become the first Welsh winner of the league cup.
- Chelsea may have struggled at home under Rafa Benitez, but it has won each of its last six away games in all competitions and conceded just 11 times on its travels across the entire season.
- Only Derby County's Michael Jacobs (five) has more assists than Juan Mata in this season's League Cup, while Swansea's Danny Graham (pictured) is the joint-second highest scorer.
- Chelsea has drawn 1-1 with Swansea on its last two visits to south Wales, and hasn't won away to the Welsh club since 1983.
- The Blues have won more penalties than any other side this year (eight), and have converted seven.
- The reigning European champions has won 50 percent of the league matches in which it has trailed this season, but never overturned more than a one goal deficit.
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
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Swansea City 0-3 Chelsea
- 21.56 %
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Swansea City 1-3 Chelsea
- 14.69 %
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Swansea City 1-4 Chelsea
- 12.25 %
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Apr 28, 2013 | Chelsea 2 - Swansea City 0 |
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| Capital One Cup (CCUP) | Jan 23, 2013 | Swansea City 0 - Chelsea 0 |
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| Capital One Cup (CCUP) | Jan 9, 2013 | Chelsea 0 - Swansea City 2 |
|
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Nov 3, 2012 | Swansea City 1 - Chelsea 1 |
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| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Jan 31, 2012 | Swansea City 1 - Chelsea 1 |
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Swansea City
    |
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| May 12, 2013 | Manchester United 2 - Swansea City 1 | EPL |
| May 7, 2013 | Wigan Athletic 2 - Swansea City 3 | EPL |
| May 4, 2013 | Swansea City 0 - Manchester City 0 | EPL |
| Apr 28, 2013 | Chelsea 2 - Swansea City 0 | EPL |
| Apr 20, 2013 | Swansea City 0 - Southampton 0 | EPL |
Chelsea
  |
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| May 15, 2013 | Benfica 1 - Chelsea 2 | EL |
| May 11, 2013 | Aston Villa 1 - Chelsea 2 | EPL |
| May 8, 2013 | Chelsea 2 - Tottenham 2 | EPL |
| May 5, 2013 | Manchester United 0 - Chelsea 1 | EPL |
| May 2, 2013 | Chelsea 3 - Basel 1 | EL |
| 25 | Gerhard Tremmel | Goalkeeper |
| 4 | Chico | Defender |
| 22 | Ángel Rangel | Defender |
| 33 | Ben Davies | Defender |
| 6 | Ashley Williams | Defender |
| 7 | Leon Britton | Midfielder |
| 9 | Michu | Midfielder |
| 11 | Pablo Hernández | Midfielder |
| 15 | Wayne Routledge | Midfielder |
| 20 | Jonathan De Guzmán | Midfielder |
| 24 | Sung-Yong Ki | Midfielder |
| 1 | Michel Vorm | Goalkeeper |
| 16 | Garry Monk | Defender |
| 21 | Dwight Tiendalli | Defender |
| 12 | Nathan Dyer | Midfielder |
| 14 | Roland Lamah | Midfielder |
| 10 | Danny Graham | Striker |
| 17 | Itay Shechter | Striker |
| 1 | Petr Cech | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Branislav Ivanovic | Defender |
| 3 | Ashley Cole | Defender |
| 24 | Gary Cahill | Defender |
| 28 | César Azpilicueta | Defender |
| 7 | Ramires | Midfielder |
| 8 | Frank Lampard | Midfielder |
| 11 | Oscar | Midfielder |
| 17 | Eden Hazard | Midfielder |
| 10 | Juan Mata | Striker |
| 29 | Demba Ba | Striker |
| 22 | Ross Turnbull | Goalkeeper |
| 4 | David Luiz | Defender |
| 19 | Paulo Ferreira | Defender |
| 26 | John Terry | Defender |
| 34 | Ryan Bertrand | Defender |
| 21 | Marko Marin | Midfielder |
| 9 | Fernando Torres | Striker |
Results
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Theo Walcott Striker Arsenal |
5 | 0 |
|
Andreas Weimann Striker Aston Villa |
4 | 0 |
|
C. Benteke Striker Aston Villa |
4 | 0 |
|
Jonathan De Guzmán Midfielder Swansea City |
3 | 1 |
|
Luciano Becchio Striker Norwich City |
3 | 1 |
