Stoke City will be looking for a second successive win as they look to push themselves further away from the relegation zone when they face Swansea City on Saturday.

The Welsh side, meanwhile, will be hoping for another win of their own as they seek to boost their playoff ambitions and keep the pressure on the teams above them in the Championship table.

Match preview

Stoke picked up an important 1-0 win over Championship leaders West Bromwich Albion last time out to move four points clear of the relegation zone.

After a terrible start to the season, Stoke are starting to pick up some semblance of form, losing just two of their last eight league games, winning four.

It is a marked improvement from their previous results, managing the just same number of wins in the 20 league games that preceded this run, losing a whopping 14 times in the process.

However, Michael O'Neill's appointment has helped the Potters turn things around and they are now unbeaten in three Championship outings and moving steadily away from the bottom three.

Stoke face a third consecutive side in the top 10 of the Championship, but they may be positive about their chances against Swansea, given that a 2-1 victory over the Welsh side in October handed the Potters their first league win of the season, despite conceding in the first minute.

Seventh-placed Swansea are 17 points ahead of Stoke, however, and are getting back into form themselves after their strong start gave way to a patchy spell.

The Swans are unbeaten in their last four league games and have lost just once in their last eight in the Championship, and they will be hoping to continue their positive run against Stoke.

Steve Cooper's side have been excellent at the back in their last four league outings, conceding just once in that run. However, in the middle of that spell, they suffered a 5-1 defeat to Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup.

Stoke City Championship form: LWLWDW
Stoke City form (all competitions): WLWLDW

Swansea City Championship form: WLDWDW
Swansea City form (all competitions): LDWLDW

Team News

Both managers have few injury problems to deal with ahead of this one.

Stoke manager O'Neill is without long-term absentee Ryan Shawcross but has no other fitness concerns.

Swansea head coach Cooper, however, has three players missing for the trip to Stoke.

Mike van der Hoorn and Jordan Garrick are both not expected to return until early next month and are ruled out.

Joe Rodon, however, has an outside chance of recovering from an ankle injury but is unlikely to feature.

Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Butland; Smith, Batth, Lindsay, Martins Indi; Allen, Clucas; Ince, Powell, McClean; Campbell

Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Roberts, Cabango, Wilmot, Naughton; Byers, Grimes; Ayew, Gallagher, Celina; Brewster

We say: Stoke City 0-1 Swansea City

Both sides are in decent form and it is likely to be a close encounter between the pair. However, Swansea have been more consistent over the course of the season and could just edge this one.