A licensable photograph from Stoke City's Sky Bet Championship match against Swansea City in December 2025 has been published. The image shows a general view inside the bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent ahead of the scheduled fixture on December 13, 2025.
Photographer Jon Hobley of MI News/NurPhoto captured the scene. The picture is available through Reuters Connect with the credit MI News via Reuters Connect, though the outlet notes it has not verified or endorsed the material. The image file is 4200 by 2800 pixels and 3.8MB in size. Its unique story number is MT1NURPHO000C2GIU3, and it is tagged under the topics Europe and Sport.
What does the photo show?
The photograph offers a glimpse of the bet365 Stadium prepared for a Championship contest. It was taken before Stoke City hosted Swansea City late in the 2025 calendar. The club finished that season 17th in the Championship, accumulating 55 points from 15 wins, 10 draws, and 21 losses across 46 games. Their recent form at the end of that campaign was poor, recorded as LLLLD. They scored 51 goals but conceded 56, finishing with a negative five goal difference. You can review the full historical record on our standings page.
Where was the image published?
The content was distributed via the Reuters Connect platform under the slug SOCCER-ENGLAND-STO-SWA/REPORT. Reuters Connect is a service for media professionals to source licensable content. The byline on the report is listed as MI News, and the source of the picture is NURPHOTO. This release is part of a wider set of related content covering other Stoke City matches from that period, including fixtures against Leicester City, Coventry City, and Blackburn Rovers on various dates in 2025 and 2026.
How does this fit with Stoke's current situation?
Looking ahead from that 2025 season, the context for Stoke City has evolved. The final 2025 table showed they ended the campaign a significant 40 points behind the champions, Coventry City. As of late August 2026, the new season is yet to begin. The Potters are preparing for their next challenge, a home match against Norwich City on September 1, 2026. Norwich finished the previous season in 9th place.
The team also faces some injury concerns heading into the new term. Currently sidelined players include Aaron Cresswell, Ato Ampah, Junior Tchamadeu, and Lamine Cissé. Their availability will be a factor for the squad, which fans can monitor on our injuries page. The release of this archival image serves as a reminder of past campaigns as the club builds towards future challenges, with detailed player information available on our squad list.
