Matt WilliamsThe Swans picked up their first point of the season last weekend, drawing 0-0 at home with recently relegated Sheffield United. Russell Martinโs men played well in only their third game since he took over earlier this month but struggled to turn their possession into any clear-cut opportunities at goal.
The next test for Swansea sees Stoke City return to the South Wales. The two sides have been in the same league since 2011-12 and were both relegated together in 2017-18. Stoke currently sit in eighth but are level on points with first-place Fulham. They are one of 10 teams currently on four points, with no Championship team having won their first two games. Stoke started their season with a 3-2 win over Reading, before drawing 0-0 at Birmingham last weekend.
Their transfer window so farย
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Unlike Swanseaโs first two opponents, Stoke have brought in several players so far this window.
Their first acquisition of the summer is a former Swansea City player. Ben Wilmot, who spent the 2019-20 season on loan at the club, joined from Watford for an undisclosed fee. The 21-year-old defender scored a famous goal for the Swans, heading home a Wayne Routledge cross to give Swansea a 1-0 win over rivals Cardiff City at the Liberty Stadium. He made 21 league appearances for the Swans that season, scoring twice.
Stoke signed a second ex-Swan less than a fortnight ago, bringing Sam Surridge in from Bournemouth for an undisclosed fee. The young striker spent half a season with the Swans in 2019-20 but was recalled by Bournemouth in January 2020. He scored four goals in 20 league outings for the Welsh club. Since joining Stoke, Surridge has already scored twice, bagging the winner in their 3-2 win over Reading before opened the scoring in their 2-1 EFL Cup win at home to Fleetwood Town.
In July, the Potters added two free agents to their squad. The first was Jack Bonham, who joined after departing Gillingham. The 27-year-old goalkeeper has made 5 appearances for the Republic of Ireland U17s. Mario Vranฤiฤ was also added to the squad after making 123 league appearances for Norwich in a four-year spell. The 32-year-old midfielder has also played six times for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
They have also brought in one player on loan, with Leo รstigรฅrd joining on a season-long loan from Brighton. The 21-year-old defender spent last season on loan at Coventry City, where he made 39 Championship appearances, scoring twice.
Outs
While Stoke have welcomed five players to the club so far, they have also seen their fair share of exits.
Centre-back Kevin Wimmer left to join Rapid Wien on a free transfer. The 28-year-old Austrian international joined Stoke in 2017 but struggled to break into the first team. All 17 of his league appearances came in his debut season, as he was loaned out to several European clubs for the remaining three years of his deal.
Ryan Woods, who was once linked with a ยฃ6 million move to Swansea, left to join Birmingham City on a free transfer. The 27-year-old central midfielder has struggled to live up to his earlier hype after impressing while at Brentford. He was loaned out to Millwall for the 2020-21 season.
Wimmer and Woods are just two names on a long list of players who departed Stoke on free transfers. Jordan Cousins moved to Wigan, Moritz Bauer went to Russian side FC Ufa, ex-Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel joined Kuwait SC and Badou Ndiaye left for Aris Thessaloniki in Greece.
Meanwhile, several players have left for undisclosed fees. Liam Lindsay joined Preston, Nathan Collins left for Burnley, Lasse Sรธrensen moved to Lincoln City and Lee Gregory departed for League One side Sheffield Wednesday.
Wales international Sam Vokes also bid farewell to the Bet365 Stadium, joining recently relegated Wycombe Wanderers, while Dutch international centre-back Bruno Martins Indi returned to the Netherlands to sign for AZ Alkmaar. The defender joined Stoke for ยฃ7 million in 2017.
Stoke have also let several players go out on loan, including Benik Afobe. The striker cost the Potters ยฃ12 million back in January 2019, but the 28-year-old DR Congo international has so far scored just twice in his 20 league outings for the club. He joined Bristol City on loan in 2019-20, before spending last season at Trabzonspor. He now lines up for Millwall, where he has started both league games so far.
Familiar faces
Along with the aforementioned Wilmot and Surridge, the Stoke City team includes several more ex-Swansea players.
Former fan favourite Joe Allen has been at Stoke City since 2016. The 31-year-old Wales international began his career at Swansea City, making his debut in 2007 as a teenager. He was a key figure in Swanseaโs promotion season, making 40 Championship appearances. In Swanseaโs first season in the Premier League, he played 36 times, scoring four goals. However, when Brendan Rodgers left to join Liverpool in the summer of 2012, Allen followed suit, departing for a fee of ยฃ15 million. Four years later, he left Liverpool to join Stoke for a reported ยฃ13 million. The Swans had been linked with him but beaten to his signature, much to the dismay of many fans, who were eager to see the Welshman returned to South Wales.
While Allen remains popular among Swansea fans, the same can not be said for Sam Clucas. The 30-year-old midfielder failed to deliver after joining the club for around ยฃ16.5 million in 2017. He left to join Stoke a year later for just ยฃ6 million, where he has been more successful. Swansea fans will no doubt remember the time when Clucas scored against the club in 2019-20, before running the length of the pitch to rub salt in the wounds of the travelling Jack Army. It is likely that Clucas will receive a hostile reaction when the two sides meet.
Their manager
Since 2019, Stoke have been managed by Michael OโNeill. The 52-year-old former midfielder represented Northern Ireland 31 times in his playing career.
He began his playing career at Coleraine in his native Northern Ireland but left to join Newcastle United in 1987. He scored 12 goals in his debut season with the Magpies. After a less productive, injury-affected second campaign at Newcastle, he left to join Scottish Premier League side Dundee United.
His four years at the Scottish club were turbulent, as he was dropped from the first team after a spat with the manager over refusing to extend his contract. He left on a free transfer, joining fellow SPL side Hibernian. He enjoyed more success with Hibs, making 36 appearances in his debut season, before scoring 10 in 33 in his second campaign.
After a three-year spell at the club, OโNeill returned to England, this time to join Coventry City. However, he played just five times in his two years at the club. His second season in Coventry saw him loaned out twice. He first joined Aberdeen, before being loaned out to Reading.
He left Coventry in 1998, but remained in England, joining Wigan Athletic. He made 66 league appearances in a two-year spell, before joining St Johnstone in 2000. This spell was short-lived, as he moved to America in 2001 to play for Portland Timbers. He played 22 times for the Oregon-based team, before returning to Scotland to join Clydebank.
He followed his one season at Clydebank with a brief spell at Glentoran in Northern Ireland, before finishing his playing career at Scottish Second Division side Ayr United.
After retiring in 2005, he received his first taste of club management a year later when he joined Brechin City. He enjoyed two-and-a-half years with the Scottish club but left to join Irish side Shamrock Rovers in December 2008.
In October 2010, he led the side to their first league title since 1994 and won the 2011 Setanta Sports Cup a year later. He won his second consecutive league title in 2011. He also became the first manager to lead a League of Ireland club to the group stages of a European cup competition, when they qualified for the Europa League in 2011-12. However, they finished bottom of their group, below PAOK, Rubin Kazan and Tottenham Hotspur.
After just over three years at Shamrock Rovers, OโNeill left in December 2011 to become the manager of Northern Ireland. He managed his national side for more than eight years, leading them to their first ever European Championship when they qualified for Euro 2016. After making it out of their group, Northern Ireland lost 1-0 to Wales in the Round of 16.
OโNeill was appointed as Stoke City manager in November 2019, with the club sat in 24th in the Championship. He remained in charge of the national team for a few months, intending to remain until the Euro 2020 playoffs had concluded. However, after the playoffs were delayed, he resigned as Northern Ireland boss in April 2020.
He successfully guided Stoke to safety in 2019-20, finishing in 15th with 56 points despite the clubโs poor start under previous manager Nathan Jones. In 2020-21, Stoke finished 14th, picking up 60 points in OโNeillโs first full season as their manager.
Previous meetings with Stoke City
Since Swanseaโs promotion to the Premier League in 2011, they have played Stoke 20 times, winning seven, drawing three and losing ten. Stoke did the double over Swansea in the two clubsโ final season in the top tier in 2017-18.
27th October 2020
After Stoke beat Swansea both home and away in the 2019-20 season, the Swans welcomed a Stoke side to the Liberty in October 2020, with both sides level on points after seven games.
The Swans opened the scoring in the 30th minute when Jay Fultonโs cleverly lobbed his shot over the heads of the Stoke defence, after a Marc Guehi cross was punched out by Adam Davies.
After struggling to find a second goal for much of the second half, Swansea finally doubled their advantage with three minutes to go, when on-loan Kasey Palmer bravely headed the ball past substitute keeper Angus Gunn. He took a hit in the face for his troubles but brushed it off as he gave the Swans all three points. This win saw Steve Cooperโs men move to second in the table.
3rd March 2021
Swanseaโs next meeting with Stoke will undoubtedly be remembered for the closing moments, as the Swans were awarded a contentious 96th-minute penalty.
Stoke opened the scoring in the sixth minute through Nick Powell, before Connor Roberts volleyed home just before the 20-minute mark to level the scoring.
The game remained 1-1 until deep into injury time, when Kyle Naughton went down under a challenge from Jack Clarke. Up stepped Andre Ayew, who sent the Stoke keeper the wrong way to give Swansea the win.
Match Preview
After picking up their first point of the season, the Swans will be hoping to go one better against Stoke this week. The visitors have started well, but Swansea will fancy their chances after looking much improved in their draw last weekend.
Stokeโs starting eleven against Birmingham boasted four ex-Swansea players, with Wilmot, Clucas, Allen and Surridge all involved, while Allen and Wilmot also started in their opening day win over Reading. Expect to see some familiar faces when Stoke travel to the Swansea.com Stadium, with varied reactions from the Jack Army.
Ethan Laird will be eligible for his debut after joining on loan from Manchester United, although Joel Latibeaudiere has played well at wing-back in Connor Robertsโ absence. Flynn Downes looked excellent in midfield on his debut alongside Matt Grimes. The Swans will still be without Liam Walsh and Korey Smith in midfield, but Jay Fulton is available after serving his suspension.
Joel Piroe could make his full debut for the club after his substitute appearance last weekend, while Kyle Naughton and Ryan Bennett may both be available to return.
The Swans had 63% possession against Sheffield United, but only registered one shot on target all game. They will need to show more in the final third against Stoke if they intend to pick up their first league win of the season.
