Preview | Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion
Swansea City will kick-off their FA Cup campaign as they welcome West Bromwich Albion to the Swansea.com Stadium this Sunday afternoon (2.30pm).
It's the second time Vitor Matos' side will be host to the Baggies in 10 days with the Swans running out 1-0 winners on New Year's Day thanks to Jay Fulton's superb strike in the 74th minute.
West Brom have since parted ways with head coach, Ryan Mason following a 10th straight defeat away from home against Leicester City on Monday. James Morrison will be in interim charge of the Baggies this afternoon.
The Swans bowed out at this stage last season at the hands Southampton at St. Mary's in January 2025 whilst the Baggies also exited the competition in the third round with a 5-1 loss to Premier League Bournemouth.
But Matos and his team have won four in a row at home, and will be keen to extend that run and book their place in the fourth round.
Team news
New signing Joel Ward is in contention to make his debut after signing on a short-term contract, while Josh Key is available after a foot injury.
Liam Cullen is not ready to return from a calf problem, while Ishe Samuels-Smith is a doubt with a groin issue.
Adam Idah is a long-term absentee.
Pre-match views
Vitor Matos: “This game is a priority because we want to win every game, so we are going to this game looking to compete and looking to win.
“That’s how we see the game and the cup, it is a good game for us against a team we know well having played them twice in a really short space of time.
“They have changed their manager so it may mean things are a bit different, but they have a good squad and are one of the best squads in the league when it comes to their depth.
“This is a competition where you are either in or not, so it is different in that sense, but one thing that is the same is that this is a game we want to win and we want it to be us who is in the next round.”
James Morrison: “We are well-prepared for the game on Sunday. We only played Swansea two weeks ago so we know what type of test to expect.
“We also only played them at the end of November too so we know a lot about them and the way their manager wants them to play.
“We’ve reviewed the game we had against them on New Year’s Day. I’m expecting them to make a couple of changes, as we might, but they’ll have the same principles.
“Their manager likes to press and they like to play 4-3-3 so we know what to expect. For us, it’s about trying to figure out how to exploit it."
Meet the officials
Elliot Bell will be the man in the middle this afternoon (2.30pm).
The game marks Bell’s third Swans fixture, having had the whistle for the home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday last season, which also happened to be his first Championship match as a referee.
He also officiated Swansea City's Carabao Cup victory over Plymouth Argyle in August 2025.
The Merseyside official has taken charge of 29 games in all competitions this season, handing out 101 yellow cards and three red cards.
He will be assisted by Harley Mckittrick and Harley Hetherington, Oliver Mackey will be the fourth official.
Remember the last time?
Swansea City 1 West Bromwich Albion 0 - January 1, 2026
Jay Fulton’s stunning late strike saw Swansea City record a fourth home win in a row and kick-off 2026 with victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Swansea.com Stadium.
Swans stalwart Fulton, not long on as a substitute, produced the decisive moment of a hard-fought contest when he made the most of a fine tackle by Ronald to set himself and find the far corner of the net with 16 minutes to play.
Vitor Matos’ side had shown the greater attacking intent for much of the game – aside from a brief flurry of West Brom opportunities not long after the hour mark – with Melker Widell, Zeidane Inoussa and Marko Stamenic all threatening.
At the other end Lawrence Vigouroux made a trio of fine saves to deny Karlan Grant (twice) and Mikey Johnston as the Swans kept a fourth clean sheet in their last seven games.
Prime numbers
1 - Swansea City have lost only one of their last 11 home meetings with West Bromwich Albion (W8 D2), going unbeaten in their last five (W4 D1).
88 - Lawrence Vigouroux's outstanding performance at Milwall have helped the Swansea keeper continue to lead the Championship in saves by an individual goalkeeper. The Chile international now has 88 to his name.