Meet the opposition | Stoke City
As Swansea City get set to face Stoke City, we take a closer look at the Potters.
WHAT'S THEIR STORY?
Having initially been founded in 1863 as Stoke Ramblers, the team was originally mainly made up of local railway workers.
They became Stoke Football Club in 1878, before becoming Stoke City in 1920.
The club's first, and to date only, major trophy was won in 1972, when they beat Chelsea to win the League Cup.
The Potters have won the Football League Trophy on two occasions, first in 1992 and most recently in 2000.
After a successful run under Tony Pulis that led the Potters to the Premier League and the FA Cup final, they are now in a seventh season back in the Championship following relegation in 2018.
HOW'S THEIR FORM?
Inconsistent. The Potters have won three league games and lost five so far this campaign. They enjoyed an impressive 6-1 victory over Portsmouth in midweek after four goals from Tom Cannon and strikes from Sam Gallagher and Andrew Moran, which saw them move to 15th in the Championship table.
WHO'S THE GAFFER?
Narcís Pèlach. The 36-year-old Catalan joined the Potters in September following the departure of Steven Schumacher.
Pelach has worked in English football for four years, initially under Carlos Corberan at Huddersfield Town and most recently at Norwich City under David Wagner and his replacement Johannes Hoff Thorup.
Beginning his playing career with Girona, Pèlach spent time playing in the Spanish fourth tier before retiring at the age of 25 to focus on coaching.
He spent time as head coach of both UE Figueres and Peralada, before returning to Girona as assistant coach.
A move to England followed as he joined Corberan's coaching staff at Huddersfield in August 2020 before joining Norwich in May 2023.
WHO'S THE CAPTAIN?
Ben Gibson. The centre-back signed for the Potters in the summer and was named club captain upon his arrival.
A product of the Middlesbrough academy, Gibson had spells on loan at Plymouth Argyle, York City and Tranmere Rovers before breaking into the Boro first team.
After making 185 senior appearances for Middlesbrough, Gibson joined Burnley for a joint club-record fee of £15 million. A tough couple of years and injuries followed until the defender joined Norwich City on loan in September 2020.
The move was later made permanent and Gibson played his part as the Canaries won promotion from the Championship.
He made 40 appearances for Norwich last season as they reached the Championship play-offs.
WHO ARE THE KEY MEN?
Dutch winger Million Manhoef joined Vitesse Arnhem at the age of 15 and scored twice in 20 appearances in 2021-22 after breaking into the team.
He established himself as one of Vitesse's key players the following season, scoring nine goals in 34 appearances and being voted Player of the Season.
Manhoef made the switch to the Potters in February 2024 and netted important goals against Plymouth Argyle and West Bromwich Albion towards the end of last season.
The 22-year-old, who has represented the Netherlands at youth level, has scored three goals in all competitions so far this campaign.
Swedish international goalkeeper Viktor Johansson joined the Potters in May 2024 following a four-year stint with Rotherham United.
Johansson came through the ranks at boyhood club Hammarby in Sweden and quickly built an impressive reputation in English youth football within the set-ups at Aston Villa and Leicester City.
He joined Rotherham United in September 2020 and was named the club's Young Player of the Season in his first campaign with the Millers.
The 26-year-old helped Rotherham gain an instant return to the Championship the following season, whilst they also won the EFL Trophy.
In the 2022-23 campaign, Johansson recorded the Championship's highest goals prevented statistic of 8.5 goals prevented across the season. He was a stand-out performer as Rotherham were relegated to League One and won the club's Player of the Season award for a second time.
He made his senior international debut for Sweden in October 2023 and has gone on to make three appearances for his country at senior level.
Former Swan Ben Wilmot joined Stoke in the summer of 2021 and has established himself as a key member of the Potters' squad.
He started his career as an academy scholar at his hometown club of Stevenage, progressing through the ranks to break onto the first team scene in 2018, before joining Watford in 2018.
Loan spells followed with Udinese and the Swans, where he etched his name into the history books, scoring his first goal for the club in a 1-0 victory in the South Wales derby in 2019.
Wilmot returned to Watford in the Championship and played regularly as the Hornets earned promotion back to the Premier League.
He was voted Stoke's Player of the Season in the 2022-23 season before a freak knee injury restricted him to 29 appearances for the Potters last term.
He has been ever-present for the Potters in the Championship so far this season.