The Match
Swansea suffered defeat last time out against Southampton owing to a Wilfried Bony red card, and will be keen to turn around their fortunes lest they find themselves losing three on the bounce. Monk won't be worried given the manner of the defeats in our last two games, but he'll still be keen to get back to winning ways even though he's likely to rotate heavily tonight. Gomis is certain to start given Bony being unavailable, and it's also likely we'll see Jefferson Montero, as well as some other young options in midfield, though you can't help but wonder if Monk will rotate slightly less significantly than he did against Rotherham in the last round, given the superior challenge posed by Martinez's men.
Everton seem to now be playing like I expected them to last season. Martinez inherited a stingy defence and I expected it to become instantly leaky - instead I had to eat my words as they kept 15 clean sheets last season, however this season they've only kept one clean sheet in six matches, conceding fourteen goals in the process. That's definitely something Monk will be aware of - especially given he played under Bobby, so I'm expecting us to put Everton under pressure early on. I can't say I know how much Martinez will rotate, but no matter who lines up they've got enough quality players to put out a more than competitive side.
Prior Form (Most recent at top)
| Premier League | Swansea | 0-1 | Southampton |
| Premier League | Chelsea | 4-2 | Swansea |
| Premier League | Swansea | 3-0 | WBA |
| League Cup | Swansea | 1-0 | Rotherham |
| Premier League | Swansea | 1-0 | Burnley |
| Premier League | Everton | 2-3 | Crystal Palace |
| Europa League | Everton | 4-1 | Wolfsburg |
| Premier League | West Brom | 0-2 | Everton |
| Premier League | Everton | 3-6 | Chelsea |
| Premier League | Everton | 2-2 | Arsenal |
Completely guessed lineups
Team News - Provided by injury guru @BenDinnery
Everton boss Roberto Martinez will be without Ross Barkley & Tony Hibbert through injury, while Seamus Coleman & Steven Pienaar are both doubts. Arouna Kone could start following a year out with a knee injury, while Brian Oviedo could return after a spell out with a broken leg.
Thanks as usual to Ben for providing us with up-to-date team news. You can follow him on Twitter @BenDinnery, and you can also find him on Talksport, ESPN & PremierInjuries.com
Statistics & Trivia
- This will be the first League Cup meeting between the sides.
- They have met twice before in the FA Cup - last season and in 1954, with Everton winning both matches.
- Swansea have yet to beat Everton in any competition, losing 15 and drawing five.
- As defending champions last season, Swansea lost their first tie away to Birmingham.
- They have kept a clean sheet in five of their last six League Cup fixtures.
- The Swans have gone further than the third round twice in the past five seasons.
- Everton have won only once in their last seven away fixtures in the League Cup, losing five and drawing one.
- The Toffees have been knocked out in the third round in three of the last four seasons.
- Leighton Baines has scored from the penalty spot in his last two appearances against Swansea.
Straight from the horse's mouth
Garry Monk is looking to get back to winning ways, and also to progress in the Capital One Cup:
"We won it a couple of years ago. It would be nice to go on a cup run and we also want to bounce back because we lost to Southampton. It would be nice to try to make sure we don't lose the next one.
"We'll go to win the game. We'll assess the players and see how they all are and then we'll make a judgement from there.
"It's always great to see Roberto. I know him very well and I know he will want to win the game like I will want to win the game. It will be a good cup tie, it will be an interesting one. We are at home, I am sure the fans will be right up for it and hopefully we can get the right result."
http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Monk-keen-run-cup/story-22966106-detail/story.html?#ixzz3E7P1Lcet
Roberto Martinez wants to use added fixtures to build momentum as the season gets into its swing:
"We've got a really busy period and we want to make sure we take advantage of that. There is a real competition for places in the squad and it is clear we need everyone to be ready, and those games [like tonight's against Swansea] are going to be vital to see how well we can progress.
"I think it [the loss last time out at home to Palace] just shows this league is ruthless — it is a ten-month competition and every game is different and you need to be perfect.
"We were perfect for 15 minutes but we needed that two-goal cushion and probably that is the lesson we need to take."
http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Everton-boss-Roberto-Martinez-says-Swansea-City/story-22965719-detail/story.html?#ixzz3E7O47zNM
Analysis
Another home game! The games are coming thick and fast at the Liberty of late, and hopefully tomorrow we'll be celebrating a third home win of the season.
I think key to success in this game will be both team's defences. The Swans have kept clean sheets in two of their league games as well as the League Cup game against Rotherham, whereas Everton have only managed the one in six games - though they have played Arsenal, Chelsea & Wolfsburg in the Europa League. I do think though that if we can look to stifle their attack - in a not dissimilar way to how we shut up shop against Southampton (though obviously with more attacking intent), we could well snuff out any attacks before they build up a head of steam.
I'd imagine our midfield will include Tom Carroll & Jay Fulton, so there'll be plenty of energy there. Depending on who partners them will determine a lot in terms of ball retention, while the same is true in regards to Everton's midfield. They have some quality midfielders, and I'm curious to see how much of a "first team" midfield Bobby puts out - that could indicate how seriously he's taking this match.
I'm looking forward to seeing Jefferson Montero too. Hopefully his pace can be utilised and it's the first time he'll get a start against Premier League opposition. With Everton's backline likely to contain players who haven't featured that regularly of late I'm sure he fancies his chances of making an impact.
Everton are a good team but like us last season, they're going to have one eye on Europe and the fatigue it inevitably means. Both teams are capable of a result, though the unpredictable lineups mean it's hard to tell how this one will go until the teams are announced. Hopefully the Swans can capitalise on a leaky Everton backline and qualify for the fourth round of the cup.
Do that, and we'll only be four wins away from another trip to Wembley. That'd be nice...