Crawley Town in a past match against Swansea City. (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

Swansea City will welcome League Two side Crawley Town to the Swansea.com Stadium for their EFL Cup first round encounter on August 12, 2025, with kick-off scheduled for 9pm East African Time.

This knockout fixture represents the first competitive meeting between these two sides since a friendly match in 2019, with both teams looking to progress to the second round of England’s secondary cup competition.

The match offers a welcome distraction from league duties, particularly for Swansea who will be eager to bounce back from their opening day Championship defeat.

Bristol City host Milton Keynes Dons in the EFL Cup first round at Ashton Gate, with the Championship side in excellent form after winning four of their last five matches.

Both teams enter this cup tie following disappointing starts to their respective league campaigns.

Swansea suffered a 1:0 defeat to Middlesbrough in their Championship opener, while Crawley Town were beaten 2:1 by Newport in their first League Two fixture of the season.

With this being a knockout competition, league positions are temporarily set aside as both clubs focus on cup progression. The significant two-division gap between Championship side Swansea and League Two outfit Crawley makes the Welsh side clear favorites, though cup competitions are notorious for producing upsets when lower-league teams face higher-division opposition.

Both teams come into this cup tie struggling for form. Swansea have lost four of their last five matches, with their only victory coming against Stevenage in a pre-season friendly (Swansea – Stevenage, 3:2 on 19.07.2025).

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Their recent defeats include losses to Middlesbrough in the Championship opener (Middlesbrough – Swansea, 1:0 on 09.08.2025), Lorient in a friendly (Swansea – Lorient, 1:3 on 02.08.2025), Exeter City (Exeter City – Swansea, 1:0 on 26.07.2025), and Cheltenham (Cheltenham – Swansea, 2:1 on 23.07.2025).

Crawley’s form is equally concerning, with four consecutive defeats including their League Two opener against Newport (Newport – Crawley, 1:2 on 09.08.2025), a league defeat to Grimsby (Grimsby – Crawley, 3:0 on 02.08.2025), and friendly losses to Crystal Palace (Crawley – Crystal Palace, 0:3 on 25.07.2025) and Hearts (Hearts – Crawley, 3:1 on 04.07.2025). Their last win came back in May against Shrewsbury (Shrewsbury – Crawley, 1:2 on 03.05.2025).

The teams have met just once before, in a pre-season friendly on July 13, 2019, which Swansea won 3:2.

In that match, Nathan Dyer opened the scoring for Swansea in the 15th minute, followed by George Byers doubling their lead in the 24th minute. Oliver McBurnie extended Swansea’s advantage shortly after halftime in the 47th minute.

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Crawley mounted a comeback with Joe McNerney pulling one back in the 51st minute and Felipe Morais adding another in the 74th minute, but Swansea held on for the victory. This previous encounter, though only a friendly, suggests we could see an entertaining match with goals at both ends.

Swansea will be without defender Filip Lissah, who is sidelined through injury, meaning Samuel Parker, Kaelan Casey, Cameron Burgess and Josh Tymon could be in line for starts.

In midfield, Melker Widell and Goncalo Franco are likely to operate just behind number 10 Oliver Cooper, while Zan Vipotnik is expected to spearhead the attack, flanked by wingers Ronald and Ji-sung Eom.

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Crawley, meanwhile, have a fully fit squad available. Charlie Barker, Dion Conroy and Josh Flint are among the options to form a back three for the visitors.

Swansea v Crawley will be available to watch live in the UK on Sky Sports+.. Sky Sports customers can also live stream the game via the Sky Go app.