Preview | Stoke City v Swansea City
Swansea City kick-off their Championship season with a trip to the bet365 Stadium to take on Stoke City this afternoon (3pm).
Vitor Matos’ side head to the Potteries looking to start their league campaign with a victory after a narrow 1-0 defeat to Birmingham City in the Carabao Cup last time out.
Stoke have lost just once in their last 15 home league meetings with the Swans, and Matos will be hoping to end that run in front of a a big contingent of travelling Jacks.
Around 2,700 Swansea supporters are expected to make the journey to the west Midlands, with the travelling support set to be one of the club’s biggest for a league fixture since their return to the second tier.
The Potters, meanwhile, will be looking to build on a positive start to the season under the guidance of Mark Robins.
An own goal from Oldham captain Ollie Norburn and a strike from Róbert Boženík secured a 2-0 victory over the League Two side in the Carabao Cup last time out, with Luke Graham, Svante Ingelsson, Djibril Soumaré and Ethan Galbraith all making their full home debuts for the club.
Team news
Vitor Matos has confirmed Swansea will be without Ross Stewart and Cameron Burgess for the trip to the Potters.
Burgess is set for a significant period on the sidelines after scans confirmed the Australia international ruptured his Achilles during last Saturday’s Carabao Cup meeting with Birmingham City.
The 30-year-old, who joined the Swans from Ipswich Town last summer, played every minute of every Championship game for Swansea last season. He will now undergo surgery before beginning his rehabilitation programme.
Stephen Welsh, who joined the club from Celtic earlier this summer, is among those in contention to step in, while the Swans also have Filip Lissah and Ben Cabango available in central defence.
Goncalo Franco is continuing his rehabilitation from an ankle injury, while Stewart is nearing availability following his signing as a free agent.
Pre-match views
Vitor Matos: “It’s not an easy place to go. We all know that Stoke are really consistent at home, especially last season.
“The game will ask different questions to us than the game against Birmingham, and that’s what we did this week; we have prepared for the test we will face in this game and we will try to play with our identity against a good team.
“We need to focus on the quality of our game. We need to focus on going to play against every opposition in the way we want, and then it is about the next game because the season is quite long.”
Mark Robins: “I think the Championship looks really strong. It remains to be seen, but on paper it’s really strong. Teams are spending, teams have got different capabilities now and you’ve got to keep up with that, you’ve got to try to surpass that.
“It remains to be seen what we can do, and where we can be, but there’s no dampening any expectation. We’re part of it. Anything’s possible at this stage.”
Meet the officials
Oliver Langford will take charge of Swansea City’s Championship opener against Stoke City on Saturday.
The West Midlands official is now in his 16th season as a Football League referee, having made his debut in August 2008 when he took charge of the League Two clash between Rochdale and Barnet.
Langford visited SA1 twice last season, overseeing Swansea’s 2-1 win over Wrexham in December before taking charge of the 2-1 home defeat to Southampton in April.
He will be assisted by George Byrne and Sam Clayton, with Simon Mather serving as the fourth official.
A previous meeting
Swansea City produced a stirring comeback at Stoke City in April 2016, fighting back from two goals down to earn a point at the Britannia Stadium.
Ibrahim Afellay headed the hosts in front before Bojan doubled Stoke’s advantage early in the second half.
But the Swans turned the game on its head in the space of just 12 minutes. Gylfi Sigurdsson halved the deficit with a fine finish before substitute Alberto Paloschi grabbed a deserved equaliser.
Both sides had chances to snatch victory in a frantic finale, but the points were shared as Francesco Guidolin’s side moved 10 points clear of the relegation zone with six games remaining.
Prime numbers
1 – Stoke have suffered just one defeat in their last 15 home league meetings with Swansea, winning 10 and drawing four. That sole loss came in March 2021, while the Potters have won this fixture in each of the last two seasons.
4 – Swansea finished last season strongly on their travels, going unbeaten in their final four away league games, recording two wins and two draws.
5 – Stoke ended last season with four consecutive league defeats. They will be looking to avoid making it five in a row for the first time since January 2005.
12 – Sorba Thomas was among the Championship’s leading creators last season, registering 11 assists. Only Gustavo Hamer, with 12, provided more, while Thomas also topped the division for chances created with 90.