Vitor Matos eyes positive start at Stoke

Vitor Matos knows Swansea City will face a stern opening-day test when they travel to Stoke City on Saturday afternoon, but wants his side to focus on imposing their own identity as they seek to start the league season with a positive result.

The Swans begin their 2026-27 Championship campaign at the bet365 Stadium, with Stoke providing the first test of the new season in what is expected to be once again be a fiercely competitive second tier.

Matos is under no illusions about the challenge that awaits his side, with Stoke not proving to be a particularly happy hunting ground for the Swans historically.

But that does not mean the Swans boss is expecting anything less than a front-foot display in the Potteries.

“It's not an easy place to go. We all know that Stoke are really consistent at home, especially last season,” he said.

“The game will ask different questions to us than the game against Birmingham, and that's what the focus has been on this week; prepare for this game and try to play with our identity against a good team.”

Stoke began their competitive campaign with a 2-0 victory over Oldham Athletic in the first round of the Carabao Cup, while Swansea were beaten 1-0 by Birmingham City at the Swansea.com Stadium.

But Matos admits he is not looking beyond Saturday's challenge, with the head coach keen for his players to focus on their performance and the task immediately in front of them.

“I think 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 is about the next game because the season is quite long," he added. 

“There's a lot of changes during the season, like we all saw last season. Being emotionally stable is quite important. 

"Understanding the moment is quite important too. The answer is that what we need to focus is on the next game, and that's the mentality I want here, and so it is all focus on Saturday."