Laudrup tells Swansea to take initiative

FinalSundayBradford City vs Swansea City 17:55 SS3LONDON - Swansea City coach Michael Laudrup says his side should have no concerns about being branded favourites ahead of their meeting with fourth-tier Bradford City in Sunday’s English League Cup final.Swansea will be appearing in their first major cup final, but their achievement pales in comparison to that of Bradford, who have eliminated three Premier League sides en route to Wembley Stadium.League Two Bradford are the first team from the English fourth division to reach the League Cup final since Rochdale in 1962 and Laudrup says Swansea must be prepared to shake off their own underdog mindset as a result.“I would think if you go back, it’s very rare to see a major final between a small team in the top flight and a team from the lower leagues,” said the Dane.“When teams from lower down get to the final, it is normally against Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham or Liverpool – like when Birmingham played Arsenal (in 2011).“This is different because although we are one of the lower teams, we have to accept we are favourites and we must take the initiative in the game.“We have no problem with that and we accept the majority of people will want Bradford to win as they are the underdogs.

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Laudrup tells Swansea to take initiative