Swansea City vs Stoke City Preview

Venue: Liberty Stadium, Swansea

Ref: R. Madley

Time: 20:00

Mark Hughes men travel to the Liberty Stadium on Monday night hoping to grab only their third win of the season. Stoke are on the back of a 1-0 win at Aston Villa and currently sit 15th on the Premier league table.
Gary Monk's Swansea are also searching for their third win of the season after their 2-2 draw on October 4th against Tottenham Hotspur and sit 13th, 11 points off the summit.

Head to Head:

19 Jan 2013	Swansea City v Stoke City	W	3-1	Premier League
10 Nov 2013	Swansea City v Stoke City	D	3-3	Premier League
12 Feb 2014	Stoke City v Swansea City	D	1-1	Premier League
19 Oct 2014	Stoke City v Swansea City	L	2-1	Premier League
02 May 2015	Swansea City v Stoke City	W	2-0	Premier League

• Swansea have won three of the four Premier League meetings in which they have hosted Stoke, drawing the other.

The home side won both meetings last season, with Stoke triumphing 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium while Swansea prevailed 2-0 in the reverse fixture in May.

Swansea City
• Swansea have gone four games without a win, their worst run since January - but they are unbeaten at home this season (W2, D2).
• Only 14 players have started for Swansea in the league this season, the fewest of all Premier League sides.
• Bafetimbi Gomis has been caught offside 19 times this season, more than any other Premier League player.
• Andre Ayew has three goals and one assist in four league appearances at Liberty Stadium.
Stoke City
• After failing to win any of their first six matches this season, Stoke have won their last two.
• Stoke have not won consecutive Premier League away games since December 2011.
• The Potters are unbeaten in the previous five Premier League away matches they have played on a Monday (W1, D4). The last three have finished 1-1.
• Five of Marko Arnautovic's seven league goals have come away from home

Swansea Injuries:
Andre Ayew is expected to be fit after he picked up a knee injury while playing for Ghana.
Jonjo Shelvey is also expected to be fit for the clash while Kyle Naughton returns after missing the 2-2 draw against Spurs for the birth of his daughter.

Stoke Injuries:
Stoke will be without Mame Diouf after being given compassionate leave following the death of his mother.
Marc Wilson returns after missing two games with a calf problem while Shay Given still remains a doubt.



Probable Line-up for Swansea:
 (4-2-3-1 formation): Fabianski; Williams, Rangel, Fernández, Taylor; Sigurdsson, Sung-yueng; Montero, Shelvey, Ayew; Gomis

Probable Line-up for Stoke City:
 (4-2-3-1 formation): Butland; Wollscheid, Johnson, Pieters, Cameron; Whelan, Diouf; Bojan, Arnautovic, Adam; Walters

From all indications this game promises to be a cracker, but with Swansea's recent slump following their great start to the season i'm going for 2-1 Stoke City win.