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Swansea City (A)

Notts travel to south Wales for Emirates FA Cup fourth-round replay

6 February 2018

Match Previews

Swansea City (A)

Notts travel to south Wales for Emirates FA Cup fourth-round replay

6 February 2018

Notts County travel to Swansea City looking to book a place in the fifth round of the Emirates FA Cup.

After holding the Swans to a creditable 1-1 draw at Meadow Lane, the Magpies now make the journey to the Liberty Stadium with a televised trip to Sheffield Wednesday awaiting the winners in the next round.

Swansea have been rejuvenated under new manager Carlos Carvalhal, losing just once since the Portuguese took charge in late December, but Premier League survival remainds their priority and that could provide Notts with a perfect opportunity to cause an upset.

Notts first-team coach Mark Crossley says...

"I don't think we have to say too much to the players. We are going to go down there and give it a good go, like we did in the second half at home.

"Hopefully the players will take that performance on board and we can play like that from kick-off."

"We have got nothing to lose. A lot of people say it's a free hit and we can look at it like that. We can go out there and express ourselves.

"It's the FA Cup and anything can happen."

Click here for more from Crossley.

Swansea boss Carlos Carvalhal says...

"I am experienced enough in English football to know it won’t be easy. They ask different questions.

"This is the best thing I can say, all games ask questions and you have to answer them.

"These teams ask questions Premier League teams don’t put to you so we have to be ready for the right answers.

"We will play with a strong team as we respect the competition and Notts County.

"If we win we go to the next step, if we lose it’s not the end of the world."

Team news

Brighton loanee Ben Hall is ineligible and fellow new signing Mason Bennett is cup-tied for Notts, who are also without suspended goalkeeper Ross Fitzsimons for the trip to south Wales.

Swansea were dealt a double blow during their 1-1 draw with Leicester as midfielder Leroy Fer and striker Wilfried Bony both suffered season-ending injuries.

That could open the door for Tom Carroll and Tammy Abraham to be recalled, while new signings Andy King and Andre Ayew are ineligible.

Renato Sanches will miss out after limping off with an injury at Meadow Lane while Angel Rangel and Leon Britton are unlikely to be risked by the Swansea manager.

Dangerman

Swans loanee Tammy Abraham is a natural goalscorer who has risen through Chelsea’s youth ranks with a superb scoring record – 74 in 98 appearances between 2014 and 2016.

That form saw the 20-year-old sent on loan to Bristol City, where he enjoyed an outstanding debut season in senior football which earned him a new five-year contract at Stamford Bridge prior to joining the Swans on another season-long loan.

The striker scored 26 goals in 48 games for the Robins, winning the club’s Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards, and then helped England’s under-21 side to the semi-finals of the European Championships.

Five goals in the first two months of the season led to the youngster earning his first caps for England in the November friendlies against Germany and Brazil, though he has not found the back of the net since a match-winning brace against Huddersfield Town on 14 October.

We've met before

The head-to-head standings favour the home side, who have won 30 of the 71 previous meetings between the sides.

This will be the fourth FA Cup tie between the teams, with both sides winning a game each and the other being a draw.

Notts came out 3-1 winners in January 1931 before the Swans took revenge three years later with a 1-0 victory.

The last meeting ended in a stalemate as Jon Stead and Luciano Narsingh both found the net for their respective sides.

County's last win at Swansea came in February 2001, when a solitary strike from Michael Brough was enough to give the Magpies a 1-0 victory.

What are the odds?

Sky Bet have priced Notts up at 11/2 outsiders to cause an upset against the Swans, while the hosts are odds-on favourites at 1/2 to be the ones travelling to Sheffield Wednesday in round five. The draw, which would see the tie go to extra time, is 16/5.

Notts are 16/1 to record a 1-0 win or 40/1 to come away from the Liberty Stadium with a 2-0 success.

Fancy the Magpies to win and keep a clean sheet? It's 12/1 for Nolan's men to win to-nil and the same odds for both teams to score with County coming out on top.

Nolan's side winning on penalties is 16/1 or 28/1 to win after extra time against Carvalhal's outfit.

Former Swansea man Richard Duffy will be desperate to impress against his boyhood club and the defender is 500/1 to be the only name on the scoresheet in a 1-0 Notts win. He's 50/1 to open the scoring.

Jon Stead, meanwhile, has been in fine form, scoring in every round of the competition so far this season, including the winner at Brentford in round three. He's 10/1 to bag the opener in south Wales and another 1-0 win with the striker scoring the only goal is 110/1 in the scorecast market.

You can bet on the game here.


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