Man City's staggering squad value compared as Swindon plan FA Cup upset

Swindon Town welcome Manchester City to the County Ground on Friday night looking to pull off a cup shock.

The League Two side host the Premier League holders and current runaway leaders in the first tie of this season's FA Cup third round.

There are 72 places between the two teams in the English football pyramid but that is not the only gaping difference.

In terms of squad values, it is well-documented the wealth that City have at their disposal.

And according to respected industry website transfermarkt, the value of Pep Guardiola's squad is the highest in Europe at a mind-boggling £892.89m.

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Belgian superstar Kevin de Bruyne is top of City's rankings in terms of value, with the schemer rated at £81m. Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden are valued at £76.5m apiece.

It is a world away from the estimations of Swindon's squad. The Robins are attempting to win promotion back to the third tier at the first attempt.

The size of their task tonight is highlighted by the huge disparity in the total value of their squad, which comes to a total of £3.51m.

Their most valuable player is listed as Welsh international Jonny Williams. The 28-year-old, who has 31 caps to his name, was seen as a real coup for the club and is rated as having a market value of £720,000.

Only one player in League Two, Colchester's Charlie Daniels (£1.4m), has a higher value than Williams.

When comparing the two sides, Williams' value only exceeds one City player. That is their experienced but under-used goalkeeper Scott Carson (£270,000).

Despite the perceived disparity between the two, Swindon's chances of an upset have been given a huge boost.

City have been hit with a huge Covid outbreak that has left 21 players and staff isolating due to positive tests. It is unclear which players have been affected.

It means neither Guardiola nor his assistant Juanma Lillo will be in attendance for the game, with City's Rodolfo Borrell taking the reins against the Robins.

Speaking about what has been a far from ideal build-up, the Spaniard said: "Obviously, the manager is going to be connected but we've already discussed about the tactics and everything that we have to try to be doing during the game.

"During the game it might change but I have been working with him (Pep) for seven years now and we think very alike.

"Again, I'll take my decisions, but the manager is going to be connected and like any other time it'll be between all of us.

"This is not about one thing and the guy at front, now it's me but we're all connected with Pep and Juanma all the time.

"We make decisions together, the guy is Pep and now it has to be me at the front but it's the work of many people."