Croatia
Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

Swanseavs.Wycombe

sportsmole.co.uk, 26 August 2024, 15:48
Wycombe Wanderers make the trip across the Welsh border to face Swansea City in the second round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

In a rare meeting between the two sides, both will look to improve on underwhelming performances in this competition in recent seasons.

Match preview

Swansea come into this early round tie on the back of a 1-1 draw with Cardiff City in the south Wales derby on Sunday.

Local lad Liam Cullen opened the scoring inside 10 minutes for the Swans, but a late Callum Robinson equaliser meant the spoils were shared at the Swansea.com Stadium, as the hosts handed Cardiff their first point of the season.

The draw moves Swansea up to eighth with four points to their name after three matches, but there was disappointment at their inability to hold on and build more momentum after a 3-0 win over Preston North End last week.

A better showing in this competition for the 2013 winners will be most welcomed, as a 3-1 win over League Two Gillingham in the previous round was just their third EFL Cup win in four seasons, after first round exits to lower-league opposition in 2020 and 2022.

The next challenge for Luke Williams's side is the visit of Wycombe, a side they have faced just twice in 17 years, both during Wanderers' season in the Championship back in 2020-21.

Swansea won 2-0 at Adams Park, but there was nothing to separate the sides when they met here, drawing 2-2, and League One Wycombe would be pleased if they can be as competitive this week.

Matt Bloomfield's men recorded their first league win of the season at the weekend, finally putting strong attacking performances to good use with a 2-0 win over Rotherham United.

Wycombe had also scored two goals in both of their opening League One fixtures, but fell to 3-2 defeats against promotion hopefuls Wrexham and Birmingham City.

In close encounters against two strong sides, narrow defeats were disappointing but encouraging, and Wanderers were able to get over the line to get off the mark on home soil on Saturday.

Bloomfield also saw his side net twice in their first round clash with Northampton Town which booked their spot here, making it four seasons in a row that Wycombe have progressed past the first round.

However, getting much further has proved problematic, as Sutton United and Bristol City have dumped them out at this stage in the past two seasons, while they were condemned to a third round exit the season before.

Swansea City EFL Cup form:

W

Swansea City form (all competitions):

Wycombe Wanderers EFL Cup form:

W

Wycombe Wanderers form (all competitions):

Team News

Six players who started Swansea's win over Gillingham in the last round have not started either of the league games since, so they could all be given another opportunity here.

Among them is striker Zan Vipotnik, who recently arrived from Bordeaux after their dissolution, while there could also be debuts for Florian Bianchini and Nelson Abbey, after both were unused subs on Sunday.

On the injury front, Sam Parker, Aimar Govea and Josh Ginnelly are set to remain on the sidelines for the hosts.

Despite only being a few weeks into the new season, Wycombe already have a lengthy list of absentees currently.

Goalkeeper Nathan Bishop joins the likes of Ryan Tafazolli, David Wheeler, Sam Vokes, Luke Leahy, Brandon Hanlan and Beryly Lubala on the treatment table for the visitors ahead of the trip.

New signings Gideon Kodua, Aaron Morley and Cameron Humphreys all came off the bench to make their debuts against Rotherham, with the latter scoring the opening goal in that 2-0 success, and could well start here.

Swansea City possible starting lineup:

Vigouroux, Naughton, Cabango, Pedersen, Tjoe-a-On; Fulton, Allen, Cooper; Abdulai, Vipotnik, Ronald

Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Ravizzoli, Grimmer, Low, Hartridge, Harvie; Morley, Scowen, Sadlier; Udoh, Humphreys, McCleary

We say: Swansea City 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers

While changes are likely for the hosts, a strong bench gives them the chance to rotate effectively in the cup competitions, and that could see them into the third round here.

Previews by email

Top News

22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal broke an English football record in their 5-1 Premier League thrashing of Crystal Palace on Saturday, but it came at a significant cost, as Bukayo Saka was taken off with a suspected hamstring problem in the first half. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku is allegedly generating interest from at least five clubs. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona reportedly remain fully behind head coach Hansi Flick despite the team's latest title setback against Atletico Madrid on Saturday night. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Southampton's new head coach Ivan Juric is one not to be messed with as his physical scrap with Torino's sporting director showed. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Seeking to pick up a third straight home win in the Primeira Liga, Vitoria de Guimaraes play host to Nacional at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques on Monday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim is reportedly looking for the Red Devils to build a new scouting team in Portugal in a bid to unearth the next Cristiano Ronaldo. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is reportedly not interested in signing Manchester United attacker Alejandro Garnacho during next summer's transfer window. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool must take advantage of Tottenham Hotspur's considerable weaknesses and will be confident of victory on Sunday according to Reds expert David Lynch. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The January transfer window is almost here and clubs around the UK and Europe are lining up moves as they look to take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Union Saint-Jean vs. Monaco (Sunday, 1.45pm) On Sunday, in a David vs. Goliath affair, Union Saint-Jean can pull off one of the biggest upsets in Coupe de France history when they take on Monaco in the round of 64 at Stadium de Toulouse. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Gaziantep vs. Antalyaspor (Sunday, 10.30am) After their Turkish Cup victory in midweek, Gaziantep will now turn their attention to the Turkish Super Lig, with Antalyaspor visiting the Kalyon Stadyumu in Sunday's gameweek 17 encounter. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Santa Clara vs. Braga (Sunday, 5.00pm) Still reeling from crashing out of the Taca de Portugal, Santa Clara return to action in the Primeira Liga when they play host to Braga at the Estadio de Sao Miguel on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Sparta vs. Ajax (Sunday, 11.15am) Ajax will be looking to end the year on a high when they travel to Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel to take on a stuttering Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Valencia vs. Alaves (Sunday, 1.00pm) Valencia will attempt to claim their third league when they welcome relegation rivals Alaves to Mestalla for Sunday's crucial La Liga encounter. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Roma vs. Parma (Sunday, 11.30am) Both struggling in the bottom half of the Serie A standings, Roma and Parma will hope for an early Christmas gift when they meet at Stadio Olimpico on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk VfL Bochum vs. Heidenheim (Sunday, 2.30pm) In a relegation six-pointer, VfL Bochum will hope to defeat Heidenheim when they welcome them to Vonovia Ruhrstadion on Sunday in their 15th Bundesliga game of the season. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Dundee Utd vs. Celtic (Sunday, 12.00pm) Celtic, looking to maintain their unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership, will travel to Tannadice Park on Sunday afternoon to face Dundee United. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Everton vs. Chelsea (Sunday, 2.00pm) Chelsea have the chance to go top of the Premier League for a brief time at least when they travel to Goodison Park to face Everton on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk South American giants Palmeiras have reportedly sent an 'initial proposal' to Fulham for midfielder Andreas Pereira. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Nuno Espirito Santo will rival Arne Slot to win the Premier League's Manager of the Year award. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona want to sever ties with attacker Ansu Fati at the earliest opportunity in the January transfer window but the player is rebelling against a move, according to a report. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane has confirmed that he wants to remain at the Allianz Arena despite links with a return to the Premier League next year. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Serie A powerhouses Napoli have supposedly expressed an interest in signing Manchester United defender Harry Maguire on a free transfer next summer. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Alexander Sorloth scored a last-gasp winner as Atletico Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1 at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys to go top of the La Liga table. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal attacker Bukayo Saka has been seen leaving Selhurst Park on crutches after sustaining a suspected hamstring problem in Saturday's 5-1 Premier League win over Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have written a new page of English football history thanks to their 5-1 destruction of London rivals Crystal Palace in Saturday's Premier League derby. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Round 17 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig will be wrapped up with a clash between two sides from the Marmara region, as Istanbul Basaksehir welcome Kasimpasa to the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu on Monday evening. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Leicester loan star Facundo Buonanotte wants to see a Tottenham forward join him so they can rekindle their partnership. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Arsenal's rivals will hate it but they can definitely claim London is red after their 5-1 win over Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus continued his resurgence with two goals as the Gunners demolished Crystal Palace 5-1 in the Premier League at Selhurst Park.