Bony primed for the big battles

WILFRIED BONY is set to start Swansea’s replay with Wolves tonight to help get him up to speed for Monday’s Premier League clash with Liverpool.

Swans manager Carlos Carvalhal is loath to gamble on players’ fitness but knows the £12million Ivorian striker, back after hamstring problems, needs game time to sharpen up for the bigger battles that lie ahead for the relegation strugglers. Carvalhal is all set to rotate in the wake of the 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Saturday.

He said: “We have to make changes because our main competition is the Premier League.

“We respect Wolves and the FA Cup but we need to give a chance to those players coming back from injury to see them play. This game is also a chance for us to keep progressing, to keep improving and to play. We will not take risks with players, but we want to win this game and go to the next round.”

Championship leaders Wolves welcome back defender Danny Batth from suspension but Nuno Espirito Santo’s men are without the banned Ruben Vinagre.

Leam Richardson wants some redress against Bournemouth tonight after Wigan’s FA Cup adventures left him £1,000 out of pocket. The assistant manager is still seething about the fine he received after being sent to the stand near the end of the 2-2 draw at the Vitality Stadium 11 days ago.

Both Richardson and boss Paul Cook were angry Ivan Toney was denied a penalty by referee Andy Madley after appearing to be pushed by Adam Smith.

Steve Cook then headed the Cherries’ equaliser and Richardson said: “The sore feeling hasn’t gone away.”