Swansea City v Sheffield Wednesday: Carlos Carvalhal set to give Under-23 players FA Cup chance

SWANSEA CITY head coach Carlos Carvalhal will rotate his squad again for tonight's FA Cup fifth-round replay with his former club Sheffield Wednesday with the battle for Premier League safety his main priority.
Swansea City head coach Carlos Carvalhal (Picture: Tim Goode/PA Wire).Swansea City head coach Carlos Carvalhal (Picture: Tim Goode/PA Wire).
Swansea City head coach Carlos Carvalhal (Picture: Tim Goode/PA Wire).

Carvalhal’s side needed an extra game to see off both Wolves and Notts County in earlier rounds and must replay a fixture for a third time after their goalless stalemate with Wednesday at Hillsborough.

He has been boosted by the return of veteran midfielder Leon Britton, who has not played for four months, but January signings Andre Ayew and Andy King are cup-tied.

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“I look to the positives of these games. All our squad is involved and some players from the Under-23s are playing also,” Carvalhal said.

“Everyone is ready to play and this is the sixth game in the competition in a short period so far.

“Players who have not had the opportunity in the first XI have had opportunities in the cup and are doing well.”

Carvalhal suffered only his second defeat in 13 games as Swansea boss at Brighton on Saturday.

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But he insisted that 4-1 loss would have no impact on Swansea’s attempt to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1964.

“We understand what happened at Brighton as we took risks to score, so this does not have a negative impact on the team,” Carvalhal said.

“It is also a different competition and we are the underdogs.

“I say that not because we are not worse or better, but because this is not our main competition.

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“We don’t take risks with the players who play the next game, but after this we choose the best XI to try and win.”

South Korea captain Ki, who has been an influential figure in Swansea’s revival under Carvalhal, will be out of contract this summer and has been linked with AC Milan.

Swansea have held initial talks with the 29-year-old midfielder about extending his stay, which began in August 2012 when he joined from Celtic in a then club-record £5.5m transfer.

But both parties have agreed to put those negotiations on hold until the end of the season.

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Carvalhal said: “He promised to me he would give everything for the rest of the season to try to help the team stay in the Premier League. That is what I know about Ki. After this, it is the end of his contract and it is a different situation. But what is important is I have the player until the end of the season.”