Stoke City put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone by beating fellow strugglers Swansea City 3-1 at the bet365 Stadium.
Former Swansea players Wilfried Bony and Joe Allen proved to be the game's best players, with the latter setting up his teammate for two of the goals.
Wayne Routledge had earlier cancelled out the Ivorian's opener in the Potteries with a headed goal from close range, but an own goal from the unfortunate Alfie Mawson and Bony's second of the night sealed the win for Stoke.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Stoke City and Swansea City at the bet365 Stadium. These two sides have made slow starts to the campaign, but it is the visitors who are currently in more immediate danger of finding themselves in a relegation battle as the season progresses, having failed to pick up a win since the opening weekend.
Stoke have hit a positive run of form and recently climbed out of the bottom three, but they are still not yet able to breath as easily as manager Mark Hughes would perhaps like, with just two points between themselves and the drop zone ahead of this fixture. Victory for Swansea will see them move to within one point of their opponents, in fact, so there is certainly plenty to play for in the Potteries tonight.
TEAM NEWS!
STOKE CITY XI: Grant; Bardsley, Shawcross, Indi, Pieters; Whelan, Adam; Shaqiri, Allen, Arnautovic; Bony
SWANSEA CITY XI: Fabianski; Naughton, Van der Hoorn, Mawson, Taylor; Fer, Ki, Sigurdsson; Barrow, Routledge, Llorente
Let us start by looking at the home team, then, which shows just the one change from last weekend's victory over Hull City. Geoff Cameron drops out of the side after hyperextending his knee in that win on Humberside, meaning a place in the side for Charlie Adam. Phil Bardsley was another doubt after being granted compassionate leave following the death of his grandfather recently, though he is included in the starting XI this evening.
Stoke have two former Swansea players in their starting ranks tonight, with Joe Allan and Wilfried Bony in contrasting form heading into this match. Allen has hit the scoring trail over the past couple of months, scoring six goals in his last nine outings for club and country, while Bony has now gone 23 matches since he last found the net. The Ivorian spent two successful seasons in South Wales before joining Manchester City, though his career has somewhat stagnated since.
In terms of the visitors, boss Bob Bradley has made three changes from the goalless draw against Watford nine days ago. Alfie Mawson impressed in that stalemate and retains his place in defence, and he will be joined in the backline by Neil Taylor, while Leroy Fer takes the place of Leon Britton in midfield. The third change sees Fernando Llorente preferred to Borja Baston, who is made to settle for a place among the subs.
Jefferson Montero had been pushing for a recall after returning to training earlier this week, but he is left out of the travelling party once again. The inclusion of Llorente is the big call from Bradley, having brought the summer signing on from the bench last time out, but he needs to start paying back his transfer fee after scoring just once since joining. The man he replaces, Borja, also has just the one goal to his name.
BENCH WATCH!
STOKE CITY SUBS: Given, Muniesa, Walters, Imbula, Crouch, Bojan, Sobhi
SWANSEA CITY SUBS: Nordfeldt, Rangel, Amat, Britton, Cork, James, Borja
Swansea have included 18-year-old winger Daniel James among their subs this evening; the youngster clearly doing enough on the training ground to impress his new boss, having only previously been included in the squad for last season's FA Cup tie at Oxford United. Record signing Borja is alongside him, boasting far more pedigree but so far failing to truly hit the ground in his new surroundings, with just that one goal against Arsenal to show for his efforts.
Bojan is another big-name player who has been made to make do with a back-up role in the Potteries tonight, failing to break into the team with Charlie Adam the only player brought in from last time out. Peter Crouch, whose future remains up in the balance as we edge closer to the winter transfer window, is also included, as is £18m signing Giannelli Imbula. All eyes very much on former Swans duo Allen and Bony, though, who both start the game.
These two teams are separated by just four points at the bottom end of the Premier League, making this a vital game in both sides' seasons even at this early stage. A win for Stoke could lift them level on points with champions Leicester City in mid-table, making their spell at the foot of the table recently a distant memory, while Swansea desperately need a win to claw closer to their opponents in 17th place.
Stoke's poor start to the season caught many by surprise, but it was a not too dissimilar start to the last campaign when they recovered to finish in eighth place for the third year in succession under Hughes. The Potters failed to win any of their first seven matches, with a late West Bromwich Albion goal here to rescue the Baggies a point really compounding supporters' misery. An EFL Cup exit followed a few days later, leading to questions being asked of Hughes.
Credit to Hughes and his side, though, because they have won two on the bounce and gone four without defeat overall to claw themselves up the table. It is a slow process, with just the two points between them and the drop zone ahead of tonight's game, but they are certainly heading in the right direction after that poor start. That West Brom draw actually started this run of form, though it was the stalemate at Old Trafford the following weekend which truly acted as the springboard the push on.
Since that unlikely point at Old Trafford, City have defeated Sunderland and Hull City - both 2-0 - to ensure that Hughes is able to breath once again. Stoke have a real chance to push on and potentially climb into the top half over the coming month, as they face Swansea, West Ham, Bournemouth and Watford in the coming weeks - certainly not 'easy' fixtures, as such, but games which Hughes will back his side to win.
Stoke had actually gone a whopping 17 games without keeping a clean sheet prior to this more solid defensive run, which includes back-to-back shutouts in those meetings with fellow strugglers Sunderland and Hull. This is the Potters' best unbeaten run since March, in fact, and they are on track for their most profitable run of fixtures in some two-and-a-half years if they pick up a third win on the bounce against Swansea tonight.
Victories breed confidence, of course, allowing the vast majority of supporters inside the bet365 stadium tonight to look up the table rather than back down; victory being enough to take them level with champions Leicester in 11th place. Defeat for the hosts, however, and all of a sudden they are just one point clear of Swansea and the relegation zone, with a huge match to come against West Ham next weekend.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Stoke have only lost just one of the last six meetings between these two sides, though half of those games have ended all square. The Potters have never lost a home match against Swansea in the Premier League, meanwhile, with the Swans' only triumph away to tonight's opponents in the top flight coming in the first encounter in 1981.
Stoke fans beginning to feel just a tad more optimistic about their side's ambitions for the remainder of the campaign, then, but what about Swansea's? Well supporters of the Welsh outfit will not be feeling all that confident as things stand, having seen their side pick up just one win all season - that coming on the opening day when a late Leroy Fer goal was enough to earn a slender victory at the home of Burnley.
This is the Swans' worst start to a season since earning their first promotion to the Premier League, taking five points from the first 27 on offer to find only a seemingly doomed Sunderland side below them in the standings with a quarter of the campaign played. It has now been eight matches without a win, with their only other highlight besides that Burnley triumph coming a couple of months back when they held Chelsea to an impressive 2-2 draw to halt the Blues' winning run.
Swansea' only other point came last weekend when playing out a goalless draw with Watford at the Liberty Stadium - a result that will be seen more as two points dropped than one gained in the grand scheme of things, particularly with it being Bradley's first home game in the managerial hot seat. The American has certainly bided his time waiting for this big opportunity to coach in the English top flight, but will he be the man to turn around the Swans' fortunes? Only time will tell.
Bob Bradley, pictured here during his time in charge of the US men's national team, was appointed as Swansea manager earlier this month. Francesco Guidolin was given the axe following the club's poor start to the season, having initially been backed after a positive enough end to the last campaign, and the new American boss is still awaiting his first win - a valiant display at Arsenal not being rewarded with anything, before a goalless draw against Watford nine days ago.
If this game was not big enough on the face of it for Swansea, then one only needs to take a look at their upcoming fixtures. The Welsh outfit face Manchester United at home and Everton away either side of the international break - two tough games, despite the Red Devils' recent form, against sides in the upper reaches of the division. This current winless run of eight games is their joint-worst ever in the top flight, with another failure to pick up three points tonight enough to leave them in real trouble near the foot of the table.
Bradley will very much be looking to build on the positives from his only two games in charge so far, with the clean sheet against Watford last time out - the Swans' first shutout since the opening day - one place to start. That also ended a run of four-successive defeats so, while a home draw with the Hornets is hardly something to shout from the rooftops about, it is a starting point and one that could act as inspiration to turn things around. Just ask Stoke, whose 1-1 tie with West Brom started their own impressive form.
DID YOU KNOW? Only Middlesbrough and Sunderland had scored fewer goals than Swansea City's eight heading into the latest round of Premier League matches. Leroy Fer, back in the starting lineup today, has been responsible for exactly half of those goals. The Swans actually have an identical goal difference to their opponents (-7), which could prove handy come the end of the season.
With kickoff at the bet365 Stadium now just a little over 10 minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Mark Hughes: "We're looking forward to the Swansea game. It won't be easy. I think Swansea are a little bit like ourselves where they've got a lot of quality and you feel they're in a false position. I'm sure the new manager will have a way of playing that he'll want to implement as quickly as he can."
Bob Bradley: "The [new manger] bounce is talked about and you have to make it happen. I'll be excited when we get that first win. We talk a lot about confidence and they need that reinforcement. At the Emirates we had a chance for a point, but I'm not certain we put ourselves in a great position to take three."
Swansea "are in a false position", according to Stoke boss Hughes, who has helped claw his side about tonight's opponents over the past few weeks. The Welshman certainly has a point, with the Swansea boasting plenty of quality players - and a more than capable manager, too - but they certainly would not be the first side to feel aggrieved to go down should that prove to be the case. Quite simply, wins are needed - and fast!
Bradley was asked more specifically about the 'new manager bounce', meanwhile, which so far has not exactly proved to be the case since the American was appointed. A battling display at Arsenal, where City have performed well in recent times, ended in a 3-2 defeat, while last weekend's goalless draw with Watford was also a disappointment. After this match comes two difficult tests, so Bradley will likely be targeting all three points tonight.
PREDICTION! Swansea do not have the best of records at this ground, having failed to win a top flight fixture here since the first encounter at this level in 1981. There have been many a draw in this fixture down the years, though, and I am going to back this one to end the same way, with a 1-1 tie not really doing either sides' hopes of pushing up the table much good.
Both sets of players are now out on the field of play, with kickoff in the Potteries around five minutes away now. All eyes are on one man in particular for this final game of matchday 10 in the Premier League - Wales international and former Swansea star Joe Allen. The midfielder has six goals in his last nine games, remember - a run of form which completely belies anything we have seen from him in the past. A big night in store for Bony, too, who spent two successful years with the Swans.
Allen and Bony both retain their places from last time out, in a Stoke side showing just the one alteration - Adam in for Cameron, who is absent on compassionate leave. Three changes for the Swans, meanwhile, including the return of Llorente up top in place of fellow summer signing Borja. A huge game at the bottom end of the Premier League, then, with kickoff now just moments away!
KICKOFF! We are up and running at the bet365 Stadium - and all that without a single Halloween pun! Swansea City in their changed blue strip, while Stoke City - unbeaten in four now - are in their traditional striped tops.
Adam playing high up the pitch in these early stages as the visitors attempt to pressurise their opponents' backline. The midfielder, well short of playing time this term, fires a shot towards goal which deflects behind for a corner kick.
GOAL! STOKE CITY 1-0 SWANSEA CITY (WILFRIED BONY)
Football is so unpredictable at times... but sometimes you can just predict what is about to happen. Three minutes into the match and one former Swan sets up another; Allen turning the corner towards goal and Bony prodding home from close range to end his 23-match wait for a goal, putting a dagger through his former teammates' hearts in the process.
SAVE! A shocker from Van der Hoorn, as he nods the ball behind for a corner with absolutely nobody - except his own keeper - around him. From that set piece Shawcross heads the ball goalwards, but Fabianski got across well to collect. Stoke well on top.
GOAL! STOKE CITY 1-1 SWANSEA CITY (WAYNE ROUTLEDGE)
Stoke's hopes of a third clean sheet on the bounce have gone inside the opening eight minutes, as Routledge's header from a Sigurdsson centre - having got the better of Bardsley - ends with the ball in the back of the net. Great response from the visitors, who were behind for just five minutes.
That goal has given Bony some renewed confidence; the Ivorian instinctively blasting the ball from range, which deflected narrowly wide off the leg of Taylor. From the corner, the ball was worked to Pieters who failed to find the target.
Stoke looking so assured when in possession, even after that Swansea sucker punch a few minutes ago. They look as though they have more goals in them, but the visitors have already shown that they are not willing to sit back.
The hosts are still looking the better team with 15 minutes now played, with their opponents given away possession far too easily on a few occasions. The Swans just need to compose themselves a little more, having grabbed a goal from their only real foray forward.
It is still Stoke who are asking the attacking questions at the moment, but just unable to really test Fabianski since Shawcross's header a short while ago. Plenty of noise being generated by the home fans, who are desperate to keep this winning run going.
Fer is playing in a deeper position once again this evening, having proved to be a real threat when more advanced earlier in the season. The Dutchman has scored four goals this term, which was exactly half of the Swans' tally prior to tonight.
OFF THE POST! Arnautovic holds the ball up well and lays it off nicely to Adam, who puts his foot through it but can only scrape the outside of the post. The Potters looking very bright in the opening quarter of this match.
Still just the two on-target attempts for Stoke, compared to Swansea's one, but it is they who are in control of the match. Taylor lunges in on Bardsley right on the touchline but somehow avoids being shown a yellow card by referee Michael Oliver.
Shaqiri has just signalled to the bench to be taken off; the Swiss star seemingly picking up a knock early on which he has failed to fully shake off. A real blow for the hosts, that, with Bojan perhaps best suited to come on in his place.
STOKE CITY SUB! Stoke do indeed make that change, but it is now Bojan who is on for Shaqiri but instead summer signing Sobhi. A little edge to this game since that Taylor lunge on Bardsley a few minutes back.
SAVE! Swansea struggled to really get going so far, but all that truly counts is that they are level in what is a very open game. A patient move ends with Sigurdsson curling in a shot which Grant gets down low to collect.
All of a sudden it is Swansea who are enjoying themselves in possession, knocking the ball around with ease and pushing Stoke further and further back. Hughes is not happy on the touchline, and the home fans respond by urging their side on.
Eight without a win for Swansea, remember, but they are looking very assured right now. Stoke's players are forming a solid shape, but supporters want to see someone break out and put pressure on the ball - exactly what Bradley no doubt wants to see, too!
OFF THE POST! Well they have been sitting back for the best five minutes or so, but Stoke break up the other end and the ball again falls nicely for Adam to hit. Hit it he certainly does, sending the ball crashing back off the other post this time.
There is definitely an edge to this game, with Barrow going to ground following a collision with Pieters. They have their own running battle down that Swansea right - certainly one to keep an eye on for the remainder of the contest.
OFF THE POST! Unbelievable. For the third time this half, the post comes to Swansea's rescue! Allen popped up in some space and threaded through a delightful ball for Arnautovic, who rounded Fabianski but sent the ball against the upright.
SWANSEA CITY SUB! A second enforced change of the half, as Naughton hobbles off to be replaced by Rangel. The Englishman was caught napping on a couple of occasions, so that alteration could help shore the backline up a little.
Swansea playing more like the home team as this first half goes on, dominating possession but being picked off regularly by their opponents. Stoke really should be ahead, having hit the post on three separate occasions now.
SAVE! A really good attempt from Routledge on the edge of the box brings a big save out of Grant, who is happy to see the ball go behind for a corner. This entertaining first half is nearly over, with both sides coming close to a third goal of the match.
We are two minutes into three added on at the end of this first half, which I'm sure many will not want to end. Real end-to-end stuff at times at the bet365 Stadium, but that third goal of the opening 45 minutes has so far alluded us.
HALF TIME: STOKE CITY 1-1 SWANSEA CITY
Referee Michael Oliver blows for half time, bringing an entertaining opening 45 minutes at the bet365 Stadium to a close. It is 1-1 at the midway point - both goals arriving inside the opening 10 minutes, with neither side able to add to their tally in the following 35 minutes or so.
Stoke were ahead through their first shot of the match, and it seemed almost inevitable as two former Swansea players combined to give their side an early breakthrough. Joe Allen, who spent his formative years in South Wales, turned the ball goalwards from a corner and Wilfried Bony was there to prod it home to end a 23-match run without finding the net. The Potters rallied and so nearly had a second just moments later, only for Lukasz Fabianski to get across to keep out Ryan Shawcross's goal-bound header.
The visitors were soon level, however, thanks to a rare headed goal from Wayne Routledge, who got the better of Phil Bardsley to nod home Gylfi Sigurdsson's centre just five minutes after seeing his side fall behind. Stoke's hopes of keeping a third clean sheet on the spin may have been over, but they had the better of the first-half chances and hit the post three times in an incredible 20-minute spell.
Charlie Adam, in for the injured Geoff Cameron in Stoke's only change this evening, was responsible for two of those near misses - first clipping the outside of the upright with a long-range drive, before sending another belter against the other post. Arnautovic was the next player to be denied by the frame of the goal, having done the hard work by rounding Fabianski from an Allen through-ball but failing to roll into an unguarded net.
Sigurdsson and Routledge both had attempts of their own at the other end of the field, both of which Lee Grant kept out with relative ease, but it was Mark Hughes's side who were the more aggrieved to go into the break all square. With that in mind, will either manager - both of whom have already been forced into a sub apiece - make any further changes at the break?
STOKE CITY SUBS: Given, Muniesa, Walters, Imbula, Crouch, Bojan
SWANSEA CITY SUBS: Nordfeldt, Amat, Britton, Cork, James, Borja
RESTART! We are back up and running at the bet365 Stadium! No further changes made at the break, but some clarification has been given over that Naughton withdrawal - illness apparently the reason why he was hauled off, and not an injury problem.
CHANCE! A good chance for Bony to bag a brace against his former employers. Arnautovic brought down the ball with far too much ease inside the box and teed up his attacking teammate, who got too much on his shot and blasted wide from 10 yards out.
Stoke doing all the right things at the moment but are just unable to get the ball into the net. Bony persistence earns his side a corner, which Shawcross met at the second attempt. It was hit with power but blocked by a sea of bodies.
It will be interesting to see what changes Bradley makes as we approach the hour mark. A point would usually be a good point on the road, but the American may sense a chance to pick up three big points ahead of two tough games to come.
GOAL! STOKE CITY 2-1 SWANSEA CITY (ALFIE MAWSON, OG)
He did well against Watford and was rewarded tonight with just a second Premier League start, but Alfie Mawson has just put the ball into his own net to gift Stoke a second goal. Sobhi very much created it, getting the beating of his man and firing in a shot-cross which the unfortunate centre-back turned into his own net.
Similar to the first half, Stoke take the lead fairly early on and then dominate. We all know what happened in the first half, though - Swansea responding from nowhere and then holding out for the remainder. Bradley will take more of the same.
Stoke still looking the more lively of the two teams, but that could change soon as changes appear to be imminent for the Swans. Allen starting to grow into the game a little more now, but the Welshman has not particularly looked like adding to his impressive goals tally.
SWANSEA CITY SUB! Swansea not being allowed to build up any momentum really, with things looking bleak for them at this moment in time. Barrow has had a tricky evening and he is now replaced by Borja Baston, who will likely go out wide.
Routledge on the right and Sigurdsson on the left, so Borja will play in the hole just off Llorente. Not seen a great deal from the Spanish striker so far tonight, so maybe that will spark him into life with around 25 minutes to go.
Stoke supporters disappointed to see their team work the ball from back to front but then right back to their own defence. No harm in taking the sting out of the game but a fourth goal of the night will kill the Swans off for good.
The possession count is split evenly at 50-50 at the moment, with neither offering any real attacking threat. The pressure is of course on Swansea to get bodies forward, but that will open up gaps for the Potters to break into.
Routledge gets in behind in Swansea's best move of the evening near enough, but he fails to lay the ball off to Llorente alongside him. Not a particularly tough pass, either, yet Shawcross got a leg out to block it. Taylor has also just blasted high and wide.
Poor from Pieters, who is given plenty of time to look up and pick out a teammate from his left-sided cross, but completely overhits the ball and kills any of the momentum that was beginning to build. Adam then blasted wide from range.
GOAL! STOKE CITY 3-1 SWANSEA CITY (WILFRIED BONY)
Bony has hit second of the night - and it is a second assist from Allen, too! It was a well worked Stoke goal; Arnautovic pulling off a little flick to play Allen through, who saw his initial effort well blocked by Fabianski before flicking it back into a central position for Bony to head home.
Stoke come close to a fourth, with Bony failing to get enough on the ball as he goes in search of a hat-trick. Another horrible night for Swansea, particularly as this defeat has been inflicted by two of their former players.
YELLOW CARD! Arnautovic, who played a key part in that killer third Stoke goal, picks up a yellow for a challenge on Ki which will keep him out of the game with West Ham next week. Shaqiri may also be absent for that one.
OFF THE BAR! The angle is against Borja but he still takes on the shot, which deflects off Martins Indi and skims the bar on its way over. A second Swansea goal really will change everything, as Walters comes on for Bony.
Huge moment in this match! Pieters brings down Routledge and the referee points to the spot but, after consulting with the linesman, he instead awards a free kick inches outside the box. The set piece is floated in and Shawcross heads away.
STOKE CITY SUB! Arnautovic comes on for Crouch, who will be looking to make the most of this rare league appearances. Swansea also looking to make their final change in the next few moments, with Ki the man most likely to make way.
SWANSEA CITY SUB! Ki is indeed the man who makes way, likely because of an awkward fall that he did not recover from, to be replaced by Cork. Four minutes to go now in the Potteries, with Stoke holding on with ease.
Wilfried Bony has just been announced as the sponsors' man of the match. Hughes showed big faith by sticking with the Ivorian this evening, and it has paid off as he - with a helping hand from Allen - is proving to be the difference.
Four minutes of added time to be played at the bet365 Stadium. Swansea have not really looked like scoring since that third Stoke goal; a ninth game without a win now on the horizon for the first time in their top-flight history.
Stoke up to 12th, meanwhile, seven points ahead of their opponents who really do need to get out of thus rut before it is too late. Fer helps the ball wide and is greeted by plenty of ironic cheers from joyous home supporters.
FULL TIME: STOKE CITY 3-1 SWANSEA CITY
Referee Michael Oliver blows for full time, meaning a third win on the bounce for Stoke City who are now enjoying their best run of form in some two-and-a-half years. Wilfried Bony scored two of the goals, both assisted by Joe Allen, while Alfie Mawson also put into his own net after Wayne Routledge had earlier levelled things up. The Swans are now without a win in nine - their worst-ever run in the top flight.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at the bet365 Stadium, but be sure to stick around for reaction over the next hour or so. An on-the-whistle match report can also be found by clicking here. Thanks for joining!
