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

Swansea City and Stoke City square off in South Wales on Saturday afternoon, with both clubs looking for a win that will realistically guarantee that they remain a second-tier club for 2026-27.

These two clubs sit in 16th and 14th position in the Championship table respectively.

Match preview

Despite the positive work that Vitor Matos has done since his arrival at Swansea, they still face the prospect of another insignificant run-in.

Last weekend's 3-0 defeat at Ipswich Town extended the Swans' inconsistent run in the second tier, with just one win coming from four games.

There is an 11-point gap to both the playoffs and the relegation zone with just the 11 matches remaining.

As such, Matos may soon start planning for 2026-27, yet he will want to maintain what is one of the best home records in the Championship.

Fourteen points have been accumulated from their last six games at the Swansea.com Stadium, the quartet of victories coming against West Bromwich Albion, Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol City respectively.

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In sharp contrast, Stoke have failed to prevail from any of their last four away fixtures in the Championship.

That said, as well as draws coming at Birmingham City and West Brom, the Potters have only lost by one-goal margins at Charlton Athletic and leaders Coventry City.

Mark Robins had been on course to earn a share of the spoils at his former club last weekend, only for Stoke to concede an avoidable 93rd-minute goal to succumb to a 2-1 defeat versus the Sky Blues.

While Stoke are just one point better off than Swansea, they boast the joint-best defensive record in the Championship, conceding just 34 goals in 35 games.

Furthermore, they hold the joint-best away defensive record, only shipping 17 goals on their travels.

Swansea City Championship form:

Stoke City Championship form:

Stoke City form (all competitions):

Team News

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Championship top goalscorer Zan Vipotnik will almost certainly be recalled to the Swansea attack after being rested last week.

Jay Fulton and Gustavo Franco are also pushing for returns in midfield, but the rest of the starting lineup could stay the same.

Forward Adam Idah remains on the sidelines along with Zeidane Inoussa.

Stoke are in line to receive a quadruple boost this weekend with goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, defender Junior Tchamadeu and attacking duo Sam Gallagher and Divin Mubama all back in training.

While Bazunu may replace Tommy Simkin between the sticks, Robins may err on the side of caution with the other trio.

Jesurun Rak-Sakyi is in contention for a return in the final third, while midfielder Ben Pearson is one yellow card away from a two-match ban.

Swansea City possible starting lineup:

Vigouroux; Galbraith, Cabango, Burgess, Tymon; Stamenic, Fulton; Eom, Franco, Nunes; Vipotnik

Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Simkin; Talovierov, Phillips, Wilmot, Gibson; Pearson, Seko; Rak-Sakyi, Manhoef, Thomas, Cisse

We say: Swansea City 2-1 Stoke City

With both clubs having been inconsistent since the turn of the year, this is a difficult match to predict. However, Swansea hold an intimidating home record under Matos, leading us to back the Welsh outfit to earn a hard-earned win over opponents who generally keep things tight on their travels.

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