Following a goalless draw with Sheffield United on Saturday evening, Swansea City face another tough test on home turf in Championship action on Tuesday, as they welcome Stoke City to South Wales.
Russell Martin saw his side collect their first point of the season at the second time of asking at the weekend, while the Potters come with four points from their first two outings, most recently playing out a goalless draw with a resolute Birmingham City side.
Match preview
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Steve Cooper took charge of Swansea City at the beginning of the 2019-20 season, and he led them into the Championship playoffs two years in a row, as they were first defeated 3-2 on aggregate by Brentford in the semi-finals.
It was again Brentford who pipped them last season, as the teams met at Wembley in the final after the Swans had knocked Barnsley out with a 2-1 aggregate win.
Cooper's men were always fighting from behind, and they would be unable to overturn an early two-goal deficit, with Ivan Toney and Emiliano Marcondes ensuring they now remain in the second tier.
The Welshman departed the club in the summer, and they now begin life under Russell Martin, who joined from MK Dons, but his start to life in the Championship did not go to plan, as they suffered a 2-1 away defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers.
After thrashing Reading 3-0 in an exciting performance in the first round of this year's EFL Cup, Martin continued to implement his system in the following league clash at home to newly-relegated Sheffield United, with the Swans collecting their first point of the season in a goalless draw.
The former Norwich City captain will now go in search of his first league win as Swansea manager, when they welcome Stoke City to Wales.
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After a 14th-placed finish last season, Stoke City came into this campaign with optimism, as they aim to establish themselves in the top half and battle for a top-six spot.
They started in impressive fashion, coming out of a dramatic clash against Reading with a 3-2 win, as quick-fire goals from Nick Powell and Jacob Brown saw them establish a 2-1 lead before Liam Moore levelled the game on the hour mark.
The game looked set to end that way, until Sam Surridge came off the bench to net an 85th-minute winner on his debut, earning three points for Michael O'Neill's men on the opening day.
The Potters then defeated Fleetwood Town 2-1 in EFL Cup action, before facing a tough test away against Birmingham City on Saturday, with the game ending goalless.
Having collected four points from the first two games, O'Neill will be keen for his side to continue their positive start to the season with what would be an impressive away win on Tuesday.
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Team News
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Swansea City come into this campaign without several key members of last season's squad, as goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, centre-back Marc Guehi and midfielder Conor Hourihane have all returned to their parent clubs after loan spells, while Andre Ayew saw his contract come to an end in the summer.
They are expected to remain without Liam Walsh and Korey Smith, while Wales international Connor Roberts is also out of action through injury.
Roberts's absence saw Joel Latibeaudiere move across to play the right wing-back role against Sheffield United, with Brandon Cooper filling in impressively in the back three, while Ben Cabango and Ryan Manning also impressed in the defensive unit and will certainly keep their spots.
Further forward, new signing Flynn Downes should again partner Matt Grimes in midfield, although the return of Jay Fulton will offer another option, after his red card in last season's playoff final.
Stoke have also seen major squad changes over the summer, with Nathan Collins, Peter Etebo, John Obi Mikel, Kevin Wimmer, Ryan Woods, Benik Afobe and Bruno Martins Indi all departing among others.
Those have allowed O'Neill to bring in several marquee signings in the form of forward Sam Surridge, midfielder Mario Vrancic and centre-backs Ben Wilmot and Leo Ostigard.
Star forward Tyrese Campbell remains out of action with an injury that saw him miss the majority of last season, after starting in style with six goals and seven assists in the first 16 Championship outings.
Vrancic could also miss out after he was absent from Saturday's squad following an impressive debut.
Steven Fletcher, Jacob Brown and Surridge will battle for attacking spots, while Nick Powell's place behind the front line is almost certain.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Benda; Cabango, Cooper, Manning; Latibeaudiere, Downes, Grimes, Bidwell; Cullen, Lowe, Paterson
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bursik; Ostigard, Souttar, Wilmot; Smith, Allen, Clucas, Tymon; Powell; Surridge, Fletcher
We say: Swansea City 0-1 Stoke City
While Martin continues to implement his long-term plan at Swansea, they face a particularly tough test as a Stoke side arrive with an impressive mix of physicality and talent.
We see the Potters' experience disrupting the Swans, as Stoke could come and grind out an impressive away win in what we see being a low-scoring affair.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Stoke City win with a probability of 40.06%. A win for Swansea City had a probability of 30.6% and a draw had a probability of 29.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Stoke City win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.57%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (7.95%) and 1-2 (7.82%). The likeliest Swansea City win was 1-0 (11.41%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.35%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Stoke City would win this match.
