Preview
Laudrup's swans face the murky waters of Etihad on Sunday as the blues prepare to amplify their deadly goalscoring tally.
European enterprises held very different outcomes for both sides as Swansea suffered midweek misery and City enjoyed hilarity at home once again. Daniel Parejo's goal earned Valencia a 1-0 win in Wales on Thursday and the Welsh side must record at least a point in their next tie against St Gallen if they are to reach the last 32 of the competition.
Swansea City will travel to Manchester on Sunday with their ammunition severely depleted. Top scorers Wilfried Bony (10) and Michu (7) both suffered injuries in the mid-week fixture leaving Laudrup with unsettling shortages up top.
For Manuel Pellegrini's side however, Swansea's injuries have come at the perfect time. A shaky defensive performance on Wednesday night was masked by yet another attacking masterclass that saw Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko help City to their 15th goal of the Champions League group stages.
Sergio Aguero scored his 20th goal of the season on Wednesday night.
Omens look good for the blues who have not lost to Swansea on home turf since 1951. Since then, City have scored 15 goals in 7 home games against Laudrup's side and with Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo set to start on Sunday, that impressive tally may well rise uncontrollably.
The Dane's dragoons possess one of the league's better away records and have achieved 9 points from 6 away fixtures this season. However, Manuel's minions are yet to splatter even the smallest speck of dirt on their 100% Premier League home record and without Bony and Michu in their ranks, a 6th league defeat of the season looks likely.
4-0
Line-Up
With Stevan Jovetic, Vincent Kompany, David Silva and Matija Nastasic ten days away from fitness, the side that thrashed Tottenham Hotspur last weekend is unlikely to be tampered with. Joe Hart may have produced a fine display on Wednesday night, but Pantillimon has done enough in the league to keep his starting place.
Joe Hart is set to remain on the bench for Sunday's tie with Swansea.
Concerns were raised about Sergio Aguero's early exit from play against Plzen, but the substitution was pre-conceived and the Argentine will be fresh for the weekends tie.
Key Players
Sergio Aguero
Two years ago, Sergio Aguero made a frightening introduction into the Premier League with a man of the match performance on the opening day of the 2011/2012 season against Swansea City. The Argentine is in the form of his life and he'll be expecting to haunt Swansea's defence once again on Sunday.
Jonjo Shelvey
The ex-Liverpool midfielder has proven to be an excellent piece of business from Michael Laudrup and with 2 goals and 2 assists already this season, he is rapidly becoming a hit with the fans. His wide range of passing and industrious approach is sure to cause City some problems on Sunday.
