Talking Tactics | Stoke City v Swansea City
After a 2-1 victory at Rotherham on Saturday, Swansea City head back on the road to take on Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium on Tuesday evening (7.45pm).
Ahead of the trip, WhoScored.com preview the clash, looking at what to expect from the hosts, a key battle and key stat.
What to expect from Stoke
Stoke relieved manager Alex Neil of his duties at the club at the weekend after a run of six matches without a victory, and four successive defeats.
Only Rotherham (eight matches) are on a longer run of matches without a win in the Championship at present.
The Potters have now failed to score in three consecutive home matches, with their last victory at the bet365 Stadium coming against Leeds in late October.
Tuesday’s hosts have often opted to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, but caretaker boss Paul Gallagher could decide to ring the changes and switch things up in the hopes of a reaction from the squad at his disposal.
Stoke head into this one in 20th place, just two points clear of the Championship’s drop zone, and their league position reflects their 20th-placed ranking for WhoScored.com's ratings in the division this season (6.54).
That rating, however, decreases when looking at home matches only; just Sheffield Wednesday (6.48) and Queens Park Rangers (6.49) are rated lower than Stoke (6.51) on their own turf this season.
Tuesday’s clash sees both sides head into the game having conceded 28 goals in the Championship this season, while Swansea have scored nine more (28) than Stoke’s 19.
Key battle
Stoke’s run of four successive defeats has seen them continue to rack up fouls, and Tuesday’s hosts have now made more than any other team in the Championship this season (270).
Of the players to have started at least 10 matches in the division so far this term, only Middlesbrough's Sam Greenwood (2.1) is averaging more fouls per game than Stoke midfielder Wouter Berger (1.9).
New addition Yannick Bolasie is completing more successful dribbles per 90 minutes (3.4) than any other Swansea player and will look to cause the hosts a number of problems if he’s given the opportunity to run at their defence.
Likewise, Josh Key, who has completed at least nine more successful dribbles (24) than any other Swansea player so far this season, will be keen to try and help unlock the Potters’ backline.
Swansea, meanwhile, are the fourth-most fouled side in the Championship this term (237 times), which suggests this could be a fixture where we see a number of free-kicks and set-piece opportunities.
Key stat
Only Preston, Cardiff and Birmingham have made more interceptions than Stoke (219) in the Championship this season, while Swansea (213) rank fifth.
With the two sides proving effective at winning back possession, it may prove to be that a counter-attack or moment in transition proves key.
Swansea’s average possession percentage (53.6 per cent) only just edges out Stoke’s (52.1 per cent) - and ranks eighth in the division.