Matthew Upson (24 mins)
Peter Crouch (39 mins)
Barclays Premier League
, Feb 26, 2012
Ground: Britannia Stadium
, Kickoff: 15:00 , Att 26,678
Team news
Vorm expects same from Stoke Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm believes Stoke will offer few surprises in Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash at the Britannia Stadium.
The Dutch keeper was part of the Swans side that defeated Stoke 2-0 in October, and now with 13 league games remaining, the two clubs are level on 30 points with only Swansea's superior goal difference separating them.
Vorm expects a tough match from Tony Pulis' side but believes the Potters' game plan is easy to read which will once again give Swansea the advantage.
"I think they're hard to beat especially at home but if we keep our possession and the way we play, especially after the new year, we can beat everybody," Vorm told the club's official website, www.swanseacity.net.
"Stoke are a team that are fighting and use a lot of long balls - the opposite of how we play. I think if we get the ball and play how we can play we can win.
"A good thing is there's not really a secret to how they play. You know what to expect and the way they play - you can prepare for it quite well.
"Still, you never know how the match will go. For us the most important thing is to stop them playing a lot of long balls and if we've got the ball not to lose it too fast. If we've got the possession they run after us and I think that's the best way to defeat them." Stoke are in the middle of a congested run of fixtures, having played in the FA Cup and the Europa league - which they exited on Thursday night thanks to a 2-0 aggregate defeat by Valencia - whereas Swansea return to action fresh from last week's training camp in Tenerife.
Vorm believes the break came at the perfect time and provided a much-needed boost for the final stages of the season.
"We had a lot of games and I think if you have a rest after a couple of days in the nice weather it's always good," Vorm said.
"It costs a lot of strength and power to play how we do but especially against teams like Stoke. If you want to beat them to need to create high pressure and not let them put the ball too fast and lean back on our defence.
"The way they play is very hard to defend. You can beat them but it will be a tough one." Swansea will be boosted by a return to fitness by midfielder Joe Allen after he missed the 3-2 home defeat by Norwich.
However, Kemy Agustien looks set to miss out after he picked up a knock in training and fellow midfielder Andrea Orlandi (hamstring) is also a doubt.
Jonathan Woodgate believes Stoke will play a better passing team than European conquerors Valencia when they welcome Swansea to the Britannia Stadium on Sunday.
Brendan Rodgers' side have been one of the surprise packages of the Barclays Premier League season, staying well away from the bottom three and earning numerous plaudits for their style of play.
The match comes three days after Stoke's 1-0 defeat by Valencia at the Mestalla and Woodgate is hoping the clash will have prepared them well for the encounter with the Swans.
The former England defender said: "We have a big game on Sunday and we need to win it.
"Swansea are similar to Valencia. They play just as much football as them, in fact they even pass the ball a bit more than Valencia. We should be used to that now and it should be a good game.
They (Swansea) have been first class. The way they have played their football and got to where they are is a credit to them. They had more possession than Arsenal, and they beat them - that is some job." Stoke manager Tony Pulis will make significant changes from the side knocked out of Europe.
The Potters boss left nine first-team players at home for the defeat in Spain, including the likes of Peter Crouch, Jon Walters and Matthew Etherington, and all are likely to come in as Stoke look to arrest a run of four straight league defeats.
Stoke vs Swansea
Last modified 17:32 26/02/12
Potters halt poor run Stoke brought a four-match losing run in the Barclays Premier League to an end as first-half goals from Matthew Upson and Peter Crouch earned them a comfortable 2-0 victory over Swansea.
Potters boss Tony Pulis made 11 changes from the side knocked out of the Europa League by Valencia in midweek and he got the result he was looking for, with Upson heading in his first goal for the club in the 24th minute before Crouch followed suit from another set-piece 15 minutes later.
Scott Sinclair missed a glorious chance for Swansea in the opening two minutes and they had to wait until injury-time for another one, Asmir Begovic pushing Steven Caulker's header on to the bar.
Both managers made changes in goal, with Pulis giving Begovic his first league start in almost three months ahead of Thomas Sorensen, while the ill Michel Vorm was replaced by Premier League debutant Gerhard Tremmel for Swansea.
The teams' preparations could not have been more different, with Stoke playing both legs of the Valencia tie and an FA Cup clash with Crawley while Swansea, who won the reverse fixture 2-0 in October, took the opportunity to head off to Tenerife for a training camp.
Brendan Rodgers' side got their first glimpse of goal inside two minutes, and it was a very good one, Nathan Dyer breaking down the right and pulling the ball back for Sinclair, who skied his shot horribly over the bar.
Stoke immediately broke down the other end and a long throw from Ryan Shotton was only half cleared to Glenn Whelan on the edge of the box, and his shot was flicked on by Crouch but well blocked by the Swansea defence.
After a lively start the tempo dropped, but in the 24th minute the deadlock was broken as Upson powered in a header from a Matthew Etherington corner as Tremmel chose to stay on his line.
Swansea responded well and full-back Neil Taylor was allowed to run virtually from the halfway line into the heart of the penalty area before Upson produced a crucial block.
The visitors were monopolising possession but lacked a cutting edge and they were undone again six minutes before the break from another set-piece.
This time Shotton's long throw was Stoke's weapon and Crouch had the simple task of nodding it in past the despairing dive of Tremmel.
Stoke began the second half looking hungry for a third and again it was set-pieces that were causing problems for Swansea, although Tremmel did well to punch the ball away after Crouch had headed an Etherington corner towards goal.
At the other end, Dyer, who had looked Swansea's most dangerous player, curled a shot wide of the far post but it was a rare break for Swansea and in the 55th minute Jon Walters almost made it three.
Shotton's long throw again picked out the head of Crouch, who beat Tremmel to the ball comfortably to flick on but Walters could only place his header over the bar.
Stoke were pressing very high up the pitch, not allowing Swansea's defenders any time on the ball, and even when they did manage a spell of pressure they could not test Begovic.
Both managers made changes, Cameron Jerome replacing Etherington for Stoke while Luke Moore and Josh McEachran came on for Sinclair and Dyer for Swansea.
Shotton was having a fine game for the hosts and curled in a superb cross that Walters probably should have done better with than head wide of the near post.
Swansea pressed hard in the closing stages but did not test Begovic until injury-time, when the Bosnia international somehow managed to push Caulker's bullet header onto the bar from Gylfi Sigurdsson's free-kick.
| Player rating out of ten | Player name | Substitution | Did they score? | Player's disciplinary record | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asmir Begovic | ||||
| 28 | Andy Wilkinson | ||||
| 17 | Ryan Shawcross |
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| 20 | Matthew Upson |
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| 12 | Marc Wilson | ||||
| 30 | Ryan Shotton(sub 87) |
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| 18 | Dean Whitehead | ||||
| 6 | Glenn Whelan | ||||
| 26 | Matthew Etherington(sub 67) |
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| 19 | Jonathan Walters | ||||
| 25 | Peter Crouch(sub 86) |
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| Substitutes | |||||
| 29 | Thomas Sorensen | ||||
| 9 | Kenwyne Jones | ||||
| 10 | Ricardo Fuller | ||||
| 16 | Jermaine Pennant | ||||
| 24 | Rory Delap(sub 86) |
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| 33 | Cameron Jerome(sub 67) |
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| 40 | Wilson Palacios(sub 87) |
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| Player rating out of ten | Player name | Did they score? | Player's disciplinary record | Substitution | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Gerhard Tremmel | ||||
| 22 | Angel Rangel | ||||
| 2 | Ashley Williams | ||||
| 4 | Steven Caulker | ||||
| 3 | Neil Taylor | ||||
| 7 | Leon Britton | ||||
| 42 | Gylfi Sigurdsson | ||||
| 24 | Joe Allen | ||||
| 12 | Nathan Dyer(sub 70) |
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| 10 | Danny Graham | ||||
| 11 | Scott Sinclair(sub 70) |
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| Substitutes | |||||
| 5 | Alan Tate | ||||
| 15 | Wayne Routledge | ||||
| 16 | Garry Monk | ||||
| 17 | Josh McEachran(sub 70) |
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| 18 | Leroy Lita | ||||
| 19 | Luke Moore(sub 70) |
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| 27 | Mark Gower | ||||
| Team | Stoke | Swansea |
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