A penalty save from Joe Hart has kept Manchester City level heading into the break at the Liberty Stadium.
It was Hart who committed the foul on Swansea City winger Wayne Routledge early in the encounter. However, the England goalkeeper made amends by pushing Scott Sinclair's effort wide of goal.
Swansea have so far controlled large parts of the game, without creating too many goalscoring chances.
The closest they came was in the 30th minute when Danny Graham lost his marker, but was unable to keep his low shot on target.
It took leaders Man City until the 23rd minute to carve open the first attempt at goal, which Mario Balotelli sent wide of Michel Vorm's goal.
City boss Roberto Mancini reacted to his side's failure to grab a foothold in the game by introducing Sergio Aguero into the action in the 37th minute in place of Gareth Barry, a decision which appeared to anger the England midfielder.
City's rivals for the title, Manchester United, are currently beating West Bromwich Albion 1-0. If the scores stay the same, City will lead the league on goal difference.