Swansea v Brentford: tips, FA Cup fifth-round preview & odds

TV: BBC1 Wales, 4pm Sunday

The Sky Bet Championship playoffs look a distant objective for Swansea and Brentford but the FA Cup offers both clubs the chance of a memorable end to the season.

With so many Premier League sides knocked out in the third and fourth rounds – and Chelsea facing Manchester United in Monday’s fifth-round finale – whichever team prevails at the Liberty Stadium could end up with a winnable quarter-final tie.

And the last-16 meeting should be an entertaining encounter given that the teams are well-matched, with the Swans four points better off than the Bees having played a game more, and both in excellent form.

Swansea, who won 3-0 at Aston Villa in the third round, have three victories and a 3-3 draw with Birmingham from their last four home games while Brentford have been racking up the goals in all competitions.

Thomas Frank’s men were made to work hard by non-league Barnet in the fourth round, drawing 3-3 at The Hive before a 3-1 win in the replay.

They also had high-scoring victories over Rotherham (4-2) and Blackburn (5-2) in recent weeks and their attacking players should create chances against a Swansea side who have kept only two clean sheets in their last 15 Championship matches.

Neal Maupay, Brentford’s 18-goal top scorer, is an obvious threat but Ollie Watkins is also dangerous and Sergi Canos has scored in four of his last five appearances.

However, Brentford’s defence has been an issue all season, hence their lowly position in the table, and the best way to support them may be taking the 6-4 that they score at least twice.

Swansea, with leading marksman Oli McBurnie set to start, put four goals past Gillingham in the last round of the cup but shipped three at home to Birmingham before losses at Bristol City (2-0) and Leeds (2-1).

Sky Bet Championship standings

Recommendation
Over 1.5 Brentford goals
2pts 6-4 Betfair, Paddy Power

Bet on this game at Soccerbase.com

Team news
Swansea
Top scorer Oli McBurnie has recovered from illness but Nathan Dyer is a doubt and Leroy Fer, Declan John and Wayne Routledge are sidelined.

Brentford
Henrik Dalsgaard (hand) is hoping to feature but Rico Henry faces a fitness test on a foot injury. Luke Daniels has kept goal in the Bees’ three FA Cup games this season.

Key stat
Five of Brentford’s last seven games in all competitions have featured over 3.5 goals.

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