Chelsea will certainly not be underestimating their opponents in the semi-final of the League cup according to the Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez. The European champions will be coming up against the Welsh club in the first leg of the semi-final.

Chelsea have the experience of playing in numerous semifinals and finals over the last decade, while it is not the same with Swansea. Despite this, Chelsea will be paying complete respect to the opposition and the manager Laudrup. Benitez has praised the way Laudrup has seamlessly adapt to the club after the impressive reign of Brendan Rodgers.

Swansea have been one of the inform teams in the Premier league over the last couple of weeks, while the recently took points of Manchester United in a 1-1 draw. They also managed to draw the match against Chelsea at the Liberty stadium a few months ago. Swansea will be taking part in the first semi-final since 1964. The winner of this tie will be facing either Aston Villa or Bradford city in the final of the competition, which has always been given a lot of importance by Chelsea. Unlike the other top clubs, Chelsea have always regarded the League cup as an important competition.

“Michael is clever. He has been a talented player and likes to play football on the floor, using the quality of the players – it’s been good for him. After Roberto Martinez, Paulo Sousa and Brendan Rodgers, he’s come into a team that’s worked with different managers but in the same way. I think that’s really good that they do things in the way he wants them to be done because the style of football is what they had before,” said Benitez. Chelsea are likely to make a few changes to the team due to the punishing fixture schedule in the last few weeks.