PREVIEW: Stoke vs. Swansea
Stoke City vs. Swansea City, Barclays Premier League, Britannia Stadium, Saturday 2nd April, 3pm
Team News…
Stoke;
Jack Butland is ruled out after fracturing his ankle and Jonathan Walters is also absent having undergone knee cartilage surgery.
Erik Pieters is expected to return from injury but Geoff Cameron and Glenn Whelan both face late fitness assessments.
Meanwhile, Xherdan Shaqiri (thigh) is unlikely to feature, and defensive trio Ryan Shawcross, Marc Wilson and Glen Johnson remain unavailable.
Swansea;
Andre Ayew will be out of action for the third game in a row with an ankle injury.
Jefferson Montero and Modou Barrow will have late fitness tests following their return from international duty.
Last time they met…
Swansea 0-1 Stoke (19th October, 2015)
A fourth minute penalty from Bojan, after the Spaniard was impeded by Swansea captain Ashley Williams inside the box, proved enough to secure Mark Hughes’ men all three points.
What the bookies say…
Stoke 6/5, Draw 23/10, Swansea 11/4
Who is the referee?
Martin Atkinson
Where can I watch the game?
The match is not live on television but highlights will be available on the BBC’s Match of the Day programme.
What the managers say…
Mark Hughes;
“We are on a good run of form at the moment having won three of our last four, and I think only Tottenham and Leicester have a better record than us over a six-game period, which is encouraging.
“We are getting a bit of consistency to what we are producing now and if we can continue that then we should end the season well.”
Francesco Guidolin;
“If I can work here in the future, I will be very happy. I am proud and happy to be here, but I do not know what the future holds.
“I can say that the most important thing is Swansea being safe, and afterwards we will see.”
Match Facts…
The Potters have lost just one of their last five matches against Swansea (W2, D2).
Both sides met on the same date during the 1954-55 season, with Stoke recording a 5-3 away win on that occasion.