Fulham striker Erik Nevland is preparing for a rare start in his side's FA Cup fifth round replay at home to Championship promotion-chasers Swansea.

Since arriving from Dutch side FC Groningen for just over £2 million last January, Nevland has made a habit of coming off the bench to score important goals.

At the climax to last season, his strikes against Reading and Birmingham proved crucial to Fulham's desperate fight against relegation.

And in the current campaign the 31-year-old Norway international has been repeating the trick, claiming a brace after replacing Bobby Zamora in the win over Portsmouth late last month.

His reward was a start in the Cup draw at Swansea just over a week ago. Now, with manager Roy Hodgson concerned about Fulham's fixture pile-up, he is set to get another go against the Welsh side as stand-in for Andy Johnson, who is likely to be rested ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash at Arsenal.

Far from being frustrated by playing second fiddle to Hodgson's established partnership of Zamora and Johnson, Nevland said: "I have two great strikers ahead of me, and I see no reason why that partnership should be broken up. The most important thing for me is to make sure that I am ready and focused when called upon." Swansea's hopes of securing a quarter-final against Manchester United have been hit by a back injury to skipper Garry Monk.