Two Championship teams keen to move away from the relegation picture square off at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon as Stoke City play host to Swansea City.
Neither side could be separated in the reverse fixture held in South Wales just over four months ago when they played out a goalless stalemate.
Match preview
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Under the guidance of their third manager this season in Mark Robins, Stoke have struggled to put together an extended spell of positive results since the 55-year-old took charge last month, winning two, drawing four and losing two of their last eight matches in all competitions.
Four days after losing 4-2 on penalties to Cardiff City in the FA Cup fourth round following a thrilling 3-3 draw, Stoke were beaten 2-0 by Bristol City in the Championship on Wednesday night - their 13th league loss of the campaign.
The Potters have subsequently slipped to 19th in the table and remain in danger of dropping into the third tier of English football for the first time since 2001-02 as they are hovering just two points above the relegation zone.
Stoke may have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three league matches at the bet365 Stadium (W1 D2), but they still have the second-worst home record in the Championship this term; only Hull City (12) have accumulated fewer points than the Potters (19) in front of their own fans.
The Staffordshire-based side head into Saturday's clash with Swansea having won just one of their last five league meetings with the Welsh side, failing to score in their last two encounters, while Robins has faced the Swans more times than any other team in the EFL without ever recording a win in 13 games as a manager (D7 L6).
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Just three days after ending a dismal seven-game winless run (D1 L6) by beating Bristol City 1-0 on the road, Swansea suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in midweek to pile more pressure on head coach Luke Williams.
In a closely-fought contest of few clear-cut chances, Owls substitute Michael Smith produced a cool first-time finish midway through the second half to condemn the Swans to their third successive home defeat and 15th loss overall in the Championship.
Swansea began 2025 in ninth place and were just four points behind the playoffs, but they have since slipped down to 17th and are now 10 points behind the top six, as well as eight points above the relegation zone having played a game more than five of the seven teams below them.
Williams's side will attempt to win back-to-back away league fixtures for the first time since February last year when they face Stoke, but success on Saturday could prove challenging as they have only won one of their last 13 league trips to the bet365 Stadium (D4 L8).
Team News
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Stoke are set to be without Ben Wilmot, Jordan Thompson, Lynden Gooch (all leg), Million Manhoef (ligament), Eric Bocat (calf), Sam Gallagher (hamstring) and Sol Sidibe (muscle) due to injury.
The latest name to enter a packed treatment room is Enda Stevens, who is facing 'a little period' on the sidelines with an unspecified issue. Josh Wilson-Esbrand is therefore set to continue at either left-back or left wing-back.
Lewis Koumas and Junior Tchamadeu both began as substitutes in midweek due to fitness issues, but the Potters duo could return to the starting XI on Saturday, as could Andre Vidigal who watched on as an unused substitute against Bristol City after sustaining an injury in the previous match.
As for Swansea, they are still unable to call upon Joe Allen and Kristian Pedersen as they continue to recover from respective ankle and hamstring injuries.
Williams is expected to rotate his side in a few positions, with top scorer Liam Cullen, who has 10 goals to his name this term, Florian Bianchini, Goncalo Franco, Ollie Cooper, and Josh Key all pushing for a recall.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Tchamadeu, Gibson, Rose, Wilson-Esbrand; Baker, Burger; Lowe, Moran, Koumas; Al-Hamadi
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Vigouroux; Darling, Cabango, Delcroix; Kay, O'Brien, Franco, Tymon; Cooper, Cullen; Vipotnik
We say: Stoke City 1-1 Swansea City
Both Stoke and Swansea are determined to return to winning ways this weekend and put together a positive run of form in the coming weeks. However, there is little to separate these two teams and the spoils could be shared once again in another closely-fought encounter.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
