Swans: All signs point to a win against Stoke

We started the season with a kind of ‘this is the year we are going to actually win the Premier League’ attitude.

I had a fiver on Swansea finishing in the top four, and Swans fans everywhere were frantically saving so they could make the 2016/17 Champions League Final (which Swansea City were obviously going to reach).

Then a few weeks passed, the draws and losses arrived, and expectations were brought back to a ‘well, 8th place would actually be pretty good this season’.

The Swans have now gone five games without a win, including the League Cup defeat to Hull. In fact, the last game Swansea won was that huge comeback against Manchester United back in August.

So a win is well overdue. And against Stoke City on Monday, that win will almost certainly come!

Firstly, Swansea will play Stoke at the Liberty Stadium, which is a huge plus as the club have not lost at home all season - winning three and drawing two in all competitions. The stadium usually has the important ‘fortress’ atmosphere (unless the team are playing particularly badly) which helps spur Monk’s men on.

Another plus is that the game is on a Monday night meaning the match will be aired on Sky Sports, watched by millions around the country. And who usually turn on the style when the world is watching? That’s right, the Swans.

Many of the returning international players should be brimming with confidence too, having helped their respective teams secure places in the Euro 2016 finals in France.

Welshmen Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor played their part in Wales’ first qualification to a major tournament for almost 60 years, while Lukasz Fabianski was between the sticks for Poland’s last gasp win over the Republic of Ireland to seal automatic promotion for his side.

A final good sign is that Stoke have only won one of their last 18 league visits to Swansea, having drawn five and lost 12.

So all signs point to a Swansea City win.

Of course, we all know those signs will mean very little as soon as the first ball is kicked, but for now a win is looking pretty good!