Preview: Stoke City vs Swansea City - prediction, team news, lineups

Swansea City will travel to the Bet365 Stadium for Saturday's clash with Stoke City on matchday one of the Championship season.

The Swans ended the 2025-26 campaign in the top half of the table, while the Potters disappointed with a 17th-placed finish.

Match preview

Stoke will be desperate to end their wait for a positive Championship campaign, having finished between 14th and 18th place in each of the last eight seasons.

The Potters have made six signings ahead of the new season, including the £10m addition of Ethan Galbraith from Saturday's opponents.

Galbraith got 65 minutes under his belt in last weekend's 2-0 victory over League Two side Oldham Athletic in the EFL Cup.

An Ollie Norburn own goal and a Robert Bozenik effort saw the Potters set up a second-round tie against Premier League Hull City later this month.

Stoke will fancy their chances of recording another victory in Saturday's league opener, having won three of their previous five home meetings against Swansea (D2).

One of those victories took place in last season's home clash, which saw Ben Pearson and Sorba Thomas grab a goal apiece in a 2-0 victory in December 2025.

Swansea, meanwhile, are preparing for their first full campaign under Vitor Matos, who guided the club to an 11th-placed finish after taking over the reins in November 2025.

The Swans have made six new additions ahead of the new season, including three signings that have cost at least £5m in Elijah Just, Moussa Yeo and Joseph Opoku.

All three of those signings started in last Saturday's disappointing 1-0 home defeat against fellow Championship side Birmingham City in the EFL Cup.

August Priske's first-half effort proved decisive as Swansea suffered their first round-one exit since the 2022-23 campaign.

They will be desperate to produce a positive response in Saturday's league opener against Stoke, a team they beat 2-0 in March's Championship encounter at the Swansea.com Stadium, their third clean sheet in the last five head-to-head meetings.

However, they have not beaten Stoke at the Bet365 Stadium since claiming a 2-1 victory in March 2021.

Stoke City form (all competitions):

Swansea City form (all competitions):

Team News

Stoke are without experienced defender Aaron Cresswell, who is recovering from a knee injury he sustained in pre-season.

Defender Junior Tchamadeu and winger Ato Ampah are on the verge of returning to training, but Saturday's contest will come too soon for the pair.

Galbraith is expected to start in midfield against his former club after making his Stoke debut last weekend.

As for Swansea, they have been dealt a major blow with the news that Cameron Burgess is set to miss the entire season after rupturing his Achilles in the EFL Cup defeat to Birmingham.

Midfielder Goncalo Franco is continuing his recovery from ankle surgery, while Ross Stewart is a doubt due to a lack of match fitness.

Zan Vipotnik should lead the line despite being the subject of a rejected £10m offer from Premier League side Hull City.

Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Johansson; Wilmot, Lawal, Graham, Bocat; Galbraith, Ingelsson; Cisse, Manhoef, Thomas; Gallagher

Swansea City possible starting lineup:

Vigouroux; Key, Lissah, Cabango, Tymon; Just, Stamenic, Widell; Opoku, Yeo, Vipotnik

We say: Stoke City 2-1 Swansea City

We expect Saturday's contest to be a close-fought affair between two clubs hoping to compete in the top half of the table.

Stoke have fared well in recent meetings with Swansea at the Bet365 Stadium, and with that in mind, we believe they will do enough to record a third consecutive head-to-head home victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.