17.15 – Hi there! Three days after seeing their European campaign fall to pieces, reigning Premier League champions Manchester City are back in action. While they haven’t won in the Champions League this season, City’s league form has been a lot better and they come into this evening’s meeting with Swansea on the back of two wins.

Swansea, currently tenth in the table, recorded a narrow win over Wigan last time out and will be hoping to cause an upset here.

15 minutes until kick-off, teams will be along shortly.

17.30 – So City start with Argentinian pair Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez up front, while Matija Nastasic begins at centre-half in place of Joleon Lescott. Swansea will look to Spanish striker Michu, who has scored seven times already this season, for goals.

Referee Martin Atkinson is getting us underway here.

17.37 – City attempting to impose themselves on this early but, as expected as being met with two defensive banks leaving Michu up top on his own. Micah Richards gets the ball out wide but his cross crashes off the back of team-mate Samir Nasri. They retain possession, until Nasri’s through ball runs all the way to Michael Vorm.

17.44 – Wayne Routledge is shoved to the ground by City skipper Vincent Kompany and Swansea have themselves a free-kick in a decent position. The delivery is spot on but Joe Hart misjudges the flight of the ball. Thankfully, he wins a free-kick for offside.

17.49 – Routledge again causing problems but this time Richards wins the ball cleanly. The journeyman winger brings his team-mates into play and Rangel Angel takes an almighty dive after Gareth Barry obstructs him.

The defender picks up his fifth booking of the season so will miss the next match against former boss Brendan Rodgers and his new side Liverpool next week.

17.53 – Tevez runs the left channel, outmuscles his marker and plays a teasing ball towards Aguero… but it’s a couple of yards ahead of him and Vorm collects.

Michu is receiving treatment, meanwhile, after colliding with Richard while trying to get on the end of a cross.

18.02 – City seemingly suffering from a European hangover here. They look fairly laboured in their play but have been pushing for an opening in the last couple of minutes. As of yet, they’ve had no joy.

18.09 – As ESPN’s John Champion has just informed us, this is the firs time Messrs Mancini and Laudrup have locked horns. In the 1992 European Cup final, Barcelona beat Sampdoria thanks to a Ronald Koeman free-kick with the pair both featuring.

Frankly, this has been a dull affair thus far so why not watch a short highlights clip of that game.



YouTube credit: Bh0kal

18.18 – Half-time: Manchester City 0-0 Swansea

We’ve reached the break and boos ring around the Etihad. Surely the second 45 minutes can’t be as bad as that… can it?

Carlos Tevez. Credit: Mike Egerton/EMPICS Sport

18.50 – Super chance for Swansea. They string together a good 20 passes and Pablo Hernandez crosses fro Michu. The former Rayo Vallecano man meets it with his head luckily for Joe Hart it’s straight at him.

19.07 – Jonathan de Guzman finds a clearance at his feet and decides to have a pop from the edge of the City box. It’s a decent strike but curls just past Hart’s far post.

Balotelli, first tripped by his own man Tevez, attacks down the right but runs into trouble and loses possession.

Nathan Dyer has been introduced for Pablo Hernandez.