Preview: Swans v Stoke
Swansea City will be looking to record three league wins in a row for the first time this season when they host Stoke City tonight (7.45pm).
The Swans head into the contest in high spirits after recording convincing victories over Brentford and Middlesbrough in SA1 last week.
The fluency and invention shown in defeat against the likes of Norwich and West Brom is starting to get its rewards and the increased confidence in Graham Potter's squad has been clear to see.
Claiming another victory would ensure their admittedly slim play-off chances remain alive, and just add to the building sense of optimism created by the football being played by this young squad.
They face a Stoke side who have taken a very different approach to life back in the Championship, but are currently two points behind the Swans in the standings.
But the Potters are showing signs of progressing under Welsh coach Nathan Jones, and have proven hard to break down as they head to South Wales on the back of six clean sheets in a row.
Team news
Swansea City are waiting on the fitness of Wayne Routledge and Bersant Celina after the pair picked up injuries in the win over Middlesbrough.
Routledge felt some tightness in his hamstring before being withdrawn in the second half, while Celina was helped off at the end of the game after being fouled by Jonny Howson.
Mike van der Hoorn was withdrawn as a precaution, but Joe Rodon is back in contention after making his comeback as a substitute against Boro.
Pre-match views
Graham Potter: "It's a challenging time with the games coming thick and fast at the end of the season, but I think there are signs we are improving of our understanding of what we are trying to do.
"We just have to focus on the next game, look to try and reach a high level of performance because we are in a good moment."
Matt Grimes: “In football, it’s all about momentum. We’ve got another home game against Stoke on Tuesday and we’ll go into that full of confidence.
“Hopefully, we can carry on with these performances and picking up results.
“We’re just going to take every game as it comes, keep improving our performance levels and, hopefully, that will shoot us up the table.”
Nathan Jones: “It’s a Championship game and there are no givens at this level. Swansea are a fluent side, a young, energetic side so we’ll have to be at our best.
"But we go there in very good form and let’s see."
Remember the last time?
Stoke last visited the Liberty Stadium on the last day of last season, with the Potters already relegated and the Swans all-but certain to join them unless a highly-unlikely set of results unfolded.
The Swans had taken an early lead through on-loan midfielder Andy King in what would prove to be Carlos Carvalhal's last game as manager.
But any prospect of the Portuguese bowing out with a victory were quickly extinguished as the Potters hit back to lead before the interval.
Badou Ndiaye's clever lob levelled for Paul Lambert's side, with Peter Crouch's head proving the decisive blow as both sides prepared for a return to the Championship.
Prime numbers
6- Stoke have kept six clean sheets in a row, and have not conceded in 568 minutes of Championship football. A repeat tonight would see them enjoy their longest run without giving away a goal in 13 years.
77 - It has been 77 games since Swansea completed a sequence of three league wins in a row. The last time they achieved that feat was from the final three games of the 2016-17 season under Paul Clement.
Tickets for Swans v Stoke are still available – get yours HERE or call the ticket office on 01792 616400. If you want to watch the game in style – contact our dedicated hospitality team on 01792 616628 or on hospitality@swanseacity.com.
