Swansea City

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Swansea City make a swift return to action at Stoke City on Saturday (15:00 GMT) with Luke Williams urging his side to deliver a repeat of last weekend's gutsy display at Bristol City.

Swansea ended a six-game Championship winless streak with a morale-boosting 1-0 victory over the Robins at Ashton Gate.

But the high of a first victory since 29 December was quickly forgotten as Swansea were beaten 1-0 on their own patch by Sheffield Wednesday in midweek.

As a result, Williams' team travel to the Potteries looking for another lift as they take on a Stoke side who are also in need of a result.

"Both sides are not having the seasons they intended but both sides will be desperate for all the points, so it's going to be a really tough game," Swansea head coach Williams said.

"We have to raise our game again and try to show the same sort of fight and energy we had at Bristol City."

Swansea, in 17th, are eight points above the relegation zone having taken only four points from the last 24 on offer, with Stoke five points worse off than their opponents this weekend in 19th place.

Not for the first time this season, the Swans looked desperately short on attacking inspiration against the Owls, which meant Michael Smith's goal – after an error from Harry Darling – condemned them to a third successive home defeat.

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Stoke, who are likely to include former Swansea academy striker Ali Al-Hamadi, have won just one home game since 2 November – though Williams says Plymouth Argyle's successes this week prove how competitive every team in the Championship can be.

Having knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup last weekend, Argyle thumped Millwall 5-1 on Wednesday to move off the bottom of the table.

"We have to get over Sheffield Wednesday and try to make a good performance at Stoke," Williams said.

"All the games are so tough. Plymouth have just won 5-1 – a team not in a great league position can beat Liverpool and then score five goals. That's what EFL football is, so competitive.

"We have to make sure we concentrate for 90 minutes and not give away a really good chance. Then we have to be more aggressive and more clinical in the opposition box."

Stoke City and Swansea will seek to get back to winning ways as they meet at the Bet365 on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

After Wednesday night's 2-0 defeat at Bristol City, the Potters remain three places and three points above the drop zone in 19th, two places but five points adrift of the Swans, who won at Ashton Gate last Sunday but went down 1-0 at home to Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday night.

• Stoke City have won just one of their past five league games against Swansea City (D3 L1), and have failed to score in their last two league games against the Swans.

• Swansea have won only once in their past 13 league trips to Stoke (D4 L8), though have earned draws in their previous two visits in August 2022 and December 2023 (both 1-1).

• Stoke have kept a clean sheet in each of their past three home league games (W1 D2); they last did so in four successive games in November 2012.

• Swansea ended a four-game losing run on the road in the league with a 1-0 win at Bristol City; they last won successive away games in February last season.

• Stoke manager Mark Robins has faced Swansea more times than any other side in the Football League without ever recording a win (13 games – D7 L6).

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Swansea City's Championship trip to Preston North End has been put back three days to Tuesday, 4 March (19:45 GMT).

Swansea had been due at Deepdale on Saturday, 1 March.

But the fixture has been rescheduled as a result of Preston's progress in the FA Cup.

Paul Heckingbottom's team will host Burnley in the fifth round of the cup on 1 March, with a 12:15 GMT kick-off.

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

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"Are there going to be some ups and downs this season? I am pretty sure there are."

So said Luke Williams when assessing Swansea City's prospects for 2024-25 last September.

At that point Swansea were 16th in the Championship, having won one and lost two of their first four league games in this campaign.

Five months later, Swansea are 17th, after some ups and a fair few downs, with a string of low points coming since the turn of the year.

As a result, Williams looks like a coach with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

His squad, meanwhile, appears short on quality and depth – as has been the case from the start of what is becoming an increasingly painful campaign.

With 14 games of Swansea's season remaining, their primary goal is merely to ensure they are still in the second tier come August.

Talk of a play-off push always seemed optimistic, yet Williams had hoped Swansea would make some progress, at least, after last season's 14th-placed Championship finish.

They still might, of course, should they find some springtime form.

But the truth is that after six defeats in Swansea's past eight league matches, just staying in the division will do.

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That is dispiriting for a club whose owners insist the ultimate goal is to return to the Premier League.

But if Swansea's hierarchy are serious about pushing for promotion any time soon, they must find a way to strengthen the playing staff.

After the brief high following last weekend's win at Bristol City, midweek defeat by Sheffield Wednesday brought a fresh barrage of criticism on social media.

The majority of flak – as is usually the way - was aimed at the head coach, but the fact is that Swansea's playing squad has deficiencies which are glaringly obvious.

It was clear last summer, it was clear heading into the mid-season window – when Swansea's one major piece of business was to sell their captain to Coventry City - and it remains clear now.

Regardless of who is standing on the touchline, yet another overhaul of Swansea's playing staff looks to be on the cards this summer.

The club's hope must be that the arrival of Richard Montague as director of football will help them get the next transfer window right.

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Luke Williams rued a missed opportunity after Swansea City's defeat by Sheffield Wednesday as he insisted Harry Darling would not be blamed for his part in the Owls' winner.

Swansea failed to build on their weekend win at Bristol City as Michael Smith's second-half goal gave Wednesday just a second victory in their past seven Championship games.

It is now six defeats in eight league outings for Swansea, who remain eight points clear of the relegation places with 14 fixtures remaining in what is turning into another arduous season for the Welsh club.

"The result is very disappointing," said Swansea head coach Williams.

"It feels like a wasted opportunity to have moved further away [from the relegation zone] and closer [to the top six]. That's a real shame because I don't think there was a huge amount in the game.

"Even a point would have made us feel 10 times better, but we didn't deserve to get that in the end because we gave away a goal."

Substitute Smith struck with almost his first touch as a result of Darling's error.

The centre-back's attempted pass to Hannes Delcroix was picked off by Josh Windass, who teed up Smith to score.

"Of course Harry is so upset, but he is a brilliant player," Williams added.

"He made a small error and they punished us. We just forget about it. It can happen. Many players from both teams made mistakes tonight and didn't get punished.

"The whole thing doesn't sit on Harry Darling's shoulders, no chance. There were many opportunities for us to try to score and many mistakes we could have capitalised on."

Swansea thought they had equalised with almost the last kick of the game, but Williams said the decision to rule out Jay Fulton's close-range effort for offside was correct.

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Luke Williams will ask Swansea City for the same levels of "commitment and grit" – and a little more quality – as they bid to back up victory at Bristol City with another win against Sheffield Wednesday.

Swansea stopped the rot by grinding out a 1-0 success at Ashton Gate on Sunday, with Josh Tymon's goal proving the difference as Williams' men ended a six-game winless run in the Championship.

The Swans' first victory since 29 December has lifted morale after the worst spell of Williams' 13-month reign, with poor form on the field coming alongside another difficult transfer window.

Williams now hopes the Bristol City win will spark an upturn in fortunes – and says his team can take inspiration from the Ashton Gate triumph.

"We try to recognise the feeling we had after winning away from home in a gritty performance where everyone gave everything for the cause," said the Swansea head coach.

"We've had a performance that's really helped us remember the bedrock and foundation of how we should perform every week.

"I think we can also do better with the ball and combine the two. We're now hoping for a much more positive run of results and performances."

Swansea have won as many league games on the road this season – five – as they have on their own patch.

Williams is convinced his side have the ability to improve their record at the Swansea.com Stadium.

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"What's been disappointing is we've had many games at home that have been well within our grasp and we've allowed them to slip away from us," he said.

"But there's enough football left to make the home record impressive if we perform in the right way."

The Owls visit Swansea on Wednesday (19:45 GMT) having won only one of their last six league games.

Danny Rohl's side sit 11th in the table, five points better off than 16th-placed Swansea and three points outside the play-off places.

"I think the manager is very smart at analysing his opponent and I think they have a good feeling there," Williams said.

"The fans have a lot of faith in the manager and quite rightly so.

"We're going to have another very tough game. Hopefully with the home support behind us we'll have that little bit more energy as well."

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Luke Williams says three at the back is a good alternative option for Swansea City as they prepare to welcome Harry Darling back from suspension.

Williams has switched to three central defenders as he looks to adapt following Matt Grimes' move to Coventry City.

Cyrus Christie played alongside Hannes Delcroix and new skipper Ben Cabango against Coventry 10 days ago.

Kyle Naughton replaced Christie as Swansea ended a six-game league winless run at Bristol City on Sunday.

Williams must now decide how to accommodate Darling, who had played every league game this season before his red card against Sheffield United led to a three-match ban, when Swansea host Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday (19:45 GMT).

"Harry is back in the mix. He's a really good player for us and the more players we have available the better," the Swansea head coach said.

"He could [come straight back into the team] because he's fit and ready to play, but I thought Kyle Naughton was exceptional to be honest, so we'll have to see."

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Naughton was one of a number of standout performers at Ashton Gate as Swansea registered a first clean sheet since 26 December.

After struggling in the opening half hour, Swansea improved significantly and triumphed thanks to Josh Tymon's first goal for the club.

Williams believes the switch to three central defenders, with two wing-backs either side of two central midfielders and two players slightly further forward supporting a lone striker, has "suited many" members of his squad.

"I think losing Matt Grimes means the team is very different straight away," he added.

"We've got a way to go for us to be very well versed in this formation, but already I can see some positive signs.

"We can play a back four, but we now have an option that gives us more flexibility."

Sheffield Wednesday travel to Swansea City on Wednesday (19:45 GMT) as they continue to hunt for play-off spot.

The Owls currently sit outside the top 10 but are only three points shy of sixth placed Blackburn Rovers.

Though the Swans ended a six match winless run with their victory over Bristol City on the weekend and will be looking to build further away from the relegation scrap come the end of the season.

• Swansea City are unbeaten across their last seven league games against Sheffield Wednesday (W3 D4), since a 3-1 defeat at Hillsborough in February 2019.

• Sheffield Wednesday have failed to win any of their last six away league games against Swansea City (D3 L3), failing to score more than one goal in any of those matches.

• Swansea City have lost their last two home Championship matches, last losing more consecutively in January and February 2024 (4 in a row).

• Sheffield Wednesday have won just one of their last 17 away league matches in Wales (D7 L9), beating Cardiff City in September 2020.

• Since losing 2-0 to Leicester City in February 2024, Sheffield Wednesday haven't lost any of their last 12 league games against City teams (W5 D7).

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Josh Tymon has revealed the message from Luke Williams in Swansea City's victory huddle at Ashton Gate.

Swans boss Williams gathered his players following the full-time whistle in the 1-0 win at Bristol City, his side's first win of 2025.

It was a result that came after a miserable run of form and some stinging criticism off the field.

And it was a game that saw the return of the sort of resolute Swansea defensive display which has been missing since the early months of the season.

Goalscorer Tymon revealed the 'tough to beat' message had been rammed home before and after the trip across the Severn Bridge.

With Sheffield Wednesday next up at the Swansea.Com Stadium on Wednesday, Tymon said: "It's no mystery we've been on a bad run.

"And you saw by our reaction, all together in the huddle at the end, it was much-needed.

"The result will give us a massive lift – that's what the manager spoke about in the circle. We needed it because there's been a lot of criticism and rightly so - we've not been anywhere near it to be honest.

"We are a lot better than we've been showing, but that win will give us a lift to show we can defend and also hurt teams when we get in the final third."

Swansea had to dig in against the Robins, but were rewarded with only their second clean sheet since November – having managed five shut-outs before that.

Swansea went from having one of the best defensive records in the division to shipping 17 in six winless league fixtures in January and early February, and Tymon added: "We'd worked on it all week, we spoke about it through the week, to not be as easy to get through as we have been.

"At the start of the season we had a really good defensive record but we've struggled in the last month or so, so he (Williams) reiterated that we needed to be solid.

"We worked tirelessly in the week to stop conceding sloppy goals and we had that base. We need to make sure it's a starting point."

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Goalkeeper Lawrence Vigoroux says the month of February represents "a new start" for Swansea City in the Championship.

Saturday's 1-0 win at Bristol City was the Swans' first victory of 2025 and came after a widely criticised transfer window for the club in which captain Matt Grimes left for Championship rivals Coventry City.

Vigoroux, 31, made a number of important saves at Ashton Gate to help secure a much needed win for Luke Williams' side.

"We definitely needed it, if I'm being honest it wasn't the best January ever in terms of matches that we've played," said Vigoroux.

"It's a new start, a new month. We put in a great performance and I think we deserved it for how we defended and Tymo's [Josh Tymon] goal at the other end.

"It's a mentality thing, we were ready to work really hard for each other, we can't say that once every four games, it has to be every single game and it's something that we've got to challenge ourselves to do."

Swansea will hope to follow up their win at Bristol City when they host play-off contenders Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday (19:45 GMT) and then visit Stoke City on Saturday.

"We've got some big games coming up this week. If we can take the mentality that we showed into the rest of the games this season, we'll be fine," added Vigoroux.

"We've got a big game in the week and that's all we're going to be looking forward to - we can't look past that, another tough game against a well drilled side.

"We know the qualities that they have and we have just got to show them what we're good at and hopefully we can come away with the three points".

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Swansea City have been warned not to get carried away after finally ending their winless start to 2025.

Luke Williams' side had picked up just one point from their first six games of the new year before Sunday's 1-0 triumph at Ashton Gate.

Former Swansea midfielder Andy Robinson described the victory as "massive" following a run that saw them slip down the Championship table combined with negative headlines off the field.

But amid Robinson's praise for the battling performance, he insisted Swansea cannot rest easy before crunch games against Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday and Stoke City at the weekend.

"What I wanted before the game was just to fight tooth and nail for the fans who have travelled and have had a bad time of late," said Robinson on BBC Radio Wales Sport.

"But the players have delivered. The first-half wasn't so great, but they kept on persevering and they just dug out an unbelievable second-half performance to get them over the line.

"They can definitely enjoy the moment but don't get carried away; we've seen it happen with Luke Williams a couple of times with a result like this and it's backfired.

"Enjoy the moment but get ready to go and do exactly the same thing against Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke."

Swansea had been just four points off the play-offs at the turn of the year before a miserable downturn in form that also saw boss Williams criticised for comments over the West Brom managerial vacancy, and pressure piled on chairman Andy Coleman following a widely-criticised transfer window.

But Robinson says they can use the win - that lifted them into 16th and away from worries of being sucked into a relegation scrap – as a launchpad.

"It is huge for them and for manager Luke Williams," he said. "But it's got to be constant now; the fight and desire they showed today should be kept from now until the end of season.

"It's going to be a bumpy ride but this goes a long way after the abysmal off the field things that have gone on for the past few months."

Stoke are five points below Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday five above, klevel on points with Sunday's beaten opponents Bristol City.

"It's massive for the football club, just what they needed – and hopefully now they can start building with a little bit of momentum and a little bit of confidence going into a busy week," added Robinson.

"Let's be honest they are two winnable games. If you look at the next few fixtures where they could pick up points, it's those two games so this is huge."

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Swansea City head coach Luke Williams paid tribute to goalscorer Josh Tymon and debutant Lewis O'Brien after the Swans ended their winless run in 2025 with a 1-0 victory over Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

Tymon fired home the winner, his first Swansea goal and first goal since November 2022, on a day where Swansea picked up three points for the first time since December 29.

"Josh Tymon ran himself into oblivion and he's an incredible player with such physicality and quality, we are very lucky to have him," Williams told BBC Sport Wales.

The Swans endured a difficult month where results on the field were matched by a lack of success in the January transfer window, with the club failing to strengthen their squad.

Club captain Matt Grimes was surprisingly sold to Coventry City after a decade of service, but Williams paid tribute to Lewis O'Brien, the loanee from Nottingham Forest who has taken Grimes' place and impressed on his Swans debut.

"Lewis O'Brien showed he wants to come here and fight for us," Williams added.

"He showed such a commitment. I am very happy with that and grateful to him.

"The players were destroyed at the end of the game, they left everything on the pitch. Then we celebrated with the fans. There is nothing better than that.

"We showed the fans we are fighting for them."

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Swansea City head coach Luke Williams says his side's 1-0 win over Bristol City at Ashton Gate showed that his players have resiliency and want to fight to turn their season around.

Swansea had not win since December and had lost five matches in succession until Sunday's victory at the in-form Robins, who has won four successive home games.

The hosts were the better side in the first half, but Williams says he takes tremendous heart from the manner of Swansea's victory.

"I loved it because it looks like there is so much fight in the players, so much determination to changes the fortunes," Williams told BBC Radio Wales Sport.

"We have played better football before, but I don't think there is any substitute for players being willing to put their bodies on the line and protect the goal.

"Ultimately we've also created four really good chances to score, so I am really proud of the group today."

Swansea have been in dismal form in 2025 and endured a disappointing January transfer window, but Williams is hoping Sunday's win over the Severn Bridge can lift spirits.

"We hit a brick wall after Christmas with a lot of players exhausted. You have a couple of bad results and that can knock confidence," he added.

We tried to be consistent with the messages we give to the players and the staff have to make sure we don't get too down and we try and show the players we trust them. They were fantastic today.

"It's a huge win for us. We've shown we can fight against a really good team away from home. We have shown we are still fighting."

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Luke Williams says it would be "naive" of Swansea City to look beyond the current campaign as they bid to halt their alarming run of poor form.

The Swans had been within striking distance of the Championship play-off places following back-to-back wins against Queens Park Rangers and Luton Town after Christmas.

But they have plummeted to 17th in the table and are now just six points above the bottom three having picked up only one point from the last 18 on offer.

And Williams says his side's recent results have ensured the club has forgotten the "positive feelings" they had earlier on in the campaign.

"What we have got to do is get the group supported and in the best place to play as well as they possibly can," explained Williams.

"We know this group of players can win enough games but looking further than that in terms of this season would just be naive of us.

"People want to see that we are going in the right direction. At times this season it has felt like that.

"Then we have had a bad run, we have lost the captain and the window hasn't gone the way [we wanted it to].

"Then people, me included, forget a lot of the positive feelings and performances we had."

Bristol City have earned 16 of the 18 points on offer from their past six league matches at Ashton Gate and sit on the cusp of the top six going into the contest with Swansea.

"They are a good team. We had a really tough game against them earlier in the season, with two teams who were quite evenly matched," added Williams.

"They will be well supported, a good atmosphere, but our players want to play. They have to make a performance if we are going to have a chance in this game."

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Lewis O'Brien says he is determined to get his career back on track during his loan spell with Swansea City.

The central midfielder - who was on loan at Los Angeles FC in the latter half of the 2024 Major League Soccer campaign - joined the Swans from Nottingham Forest on transfer deadline day.

He has not featured under Nuno Espirito Santo this season and says the opportunity to play regular football in the Championship was one he could not turn down.

"I looked on the map first and realised how far away it (Swansea) was," joked the 26-year-old.

"I wanted to play football. I spoke to the manager before coming down and he gave his ideas across to me and he thought I could fit into the system pretty well and help the team.

"My wife is heavily pregnant at the moment so it was a tough decision to come this far, but football-wise it's hopefully a step in the right direction for my career.

"The decision to go to LA was a tough one as well. I'm not sure which beaches are better looking at the moment, there or here! I'm just trying to get my career back on the pathway that I want it to be."

O'Brien moved to the City Ground in the summer of 2022, just two months after Steve Cooper's Forest side defeated Huddersfield at Wembley in the Championship play-off final.

And O'Brien revealed Cooper's former assistant and Swans legend Alan Tate sent him a message as he pondered a switch to the Swansea.com Stadium.

"Tatey messaged me the other day and said 'I need to come down to God's country'. I just gave him a little laugh to be fair," O'Brien said.

O'Brien's arrival comes as a real boost to Swansea head coach Luke Williams following Matt Grimes' move to Coventry City.

But Williams says O'Brien has not been brought in to replace former club captain Grimes.

"We should just respect Lewis for the player that he is. He is a top performer who has been in some excellent Championship teams," said Williams.

"Grimesy was a very niche player, an incredible player. In a different way, Lewis is that as well.

"You can speak to a dozen coaches who are going to talk about Lewis in the same way that over the years we have spoken about Matt Grimes, because he has been a top performer.

"Brilliant managers who know what they are looking at say this guy is the real deal."

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Luke Williams suggested Swansea City could explore the free agent market after failing to make more additions to their squad during the January transfer window.

Defender Hannes Delcroix and midfielder Lewis O'Brien both joined the Swans on loan, although Williams had been eager to add at least two more players to his ranks during the winter window.

It comes after Swansea sold captain Matt Grimes to Coventry City and Azeem Abdulai to Leyton Orient while Andy Fisher, Kyrell Wilson and Josh Thomas were all sent out on loan.

Swansea did complete a deal to sign midfielder Melker Widell last month, although the Sweden Under-21 international will remain at current club AaB Aalborg on loan for the rest of the season.

But Williams says the free agent market could be an option for the Swans over the coming weeks - with the head coach adding the club will continue to monitor the academy for upcoming talent.

"Free agents came up this time last year. More players than ever are free agents," said the Swansea boss.

"I have a lot of confidence in the group. We are having a tough time, I am not hiding from that.

"But they have also played some very good football this season, been very competitive in almost all games up until recently.

"There are options once the window is closed to try to strengthen the squad and we don't know who is going to emerge out of the academy to make an impact.

"A number have emerged already who have been released in this window and have played quite a lot of minutes."

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Joe Allen will miss Swansea City's trip to Bristol City as he continues to recover from an ankle injury.

The central midfielder has not featured under Luke Williams since being withdrawn in the second half of his side's 3-0 defeat at Cardiff City on 18 January.

And head coach Williams says the Wales international's time on the sidelines is set to continue.

"He is going to be a bit longer which is always a blow for us because he is a brilliant player and a brilliant influence on everybody," said Williams.

Allen's fellow Wales midfielder Ollie Cooper had been absent since late October due to a stress fracture in his foot.

The 25-year-old returned to training prior to Swansea's Championship fixture with Coventry City last weekend and came on as a second half substitute against the Sky Blues.

"With Ollie Cooper it's just match minutes now. We have to be careful with him because he puts a huge strain on his body, the way he plays," added Williams.

"He is a really important player for us."

Centre-back Harry Darling will serve the final game of his three-match suspension on Sunday after being sent off during Swansea's 2-1 defeat by Sheffield United in January.

The Swans face Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Sunday (12:00 GMT).