Stoke v Swansea: Lots pointing in favour of home success

Long ball is set to rule over passing at the Britannia as Stoke look primed to get their first victory of the season over an injury-ravaged Swansea.

Stoke are 10/11 to beat Swansea and a lot seems to stack up in their favour.

Firstly, they triumphed in both meetings between the pair last season 2-0, with Swansea struggling to cope with the aerial bombardment that was sent their way.

Things may be even tougher this season with Steven Caulker back at Spurs and new central defensive signings Chico and Kyle Barclay both absent through suspension and injury respectively.

This means that Alan Tate will continue to deputise and dealing with high balls is arguably not his best asset.

Throw in that partner Ashley Williams has looked out of form of late and the Swans may struggle, as they did last season when in better form as a team.

The game is likely to come to early for Michael Owen to make a start, but Stoke have plenty of other attacking threats.

Peter Crouch poses the obvious aerial threat and is 6/4 to score at any time in the 90 minutes.

However, this may be the game for one of Stoke’s defenders to add their name to the scoresheet, with Ryan Shawcross 9/1 in this market and Robert Huth slightly shorter at 7/1.

Better news for Swansea is that although Stoke are unbeaten in nine at home, they have drawn each of the last five.

It is 12/5 that Stoke share the points again at the Britannia, with Swansea 3/1 to head back to Wales with the three points.

Stoke do look slightly short on midfield creativity at present, especially in the wide areas, and this means they may struggle to fully capitalise on Swansea’s defensive weaknesses.

This could be a contender to be the last game aired on Match Of The Day and it is 8/11 that under 2.5 goals are scored.

All odds and markets correct as of publication