SM
Ipswich vs. Man United: 19 hrs 58 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
HL
Championship
Feb 21, 2015 at 3pm UK
 
CC

0-0

 
FT

Preview: Huddersfield Town vs. Cardiff City

:Headline: Preview: Huddersfield Town vs. Cardiff City: ID:206403: from db_amp
Sports Mole looks ahead to Saturday's Championship clash between Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City at the John Smith's Stadium.

Cardiff City will be looking to pick up just their second league victory of 2015 when they travel to the John Smith's Stadium to take on Huddersfield Town this weekend.

It has not been a kind year for the Bluebirds thus far, and they find themselves on a seven-match winless run in all competitions, although they have at least stopped the run of defeats with three consecutive draws.

Even so, no team is in worse form in the Championship right now, with Cardiff's recent slump seeing them slip down to 15th place, one below Saturday's opponents and only seven points clear of the relegation zone.

They have won just one of their last 12 league games stretching back to November, although they were close to doubling that tally on Tuesday night against Blackburn Rovers, only for Rudy Gestede's 90th-minute equaliser to deny Russell Slade's side the points in South Wales.

The fact that Cardiff are back out on the road this weekend will not come as welcome news to Slade. His side have only mustered one league win on their travels all season, and only Blackpool have amassed fewer away points.

What's more, their record away to Huddersfield in recent seasons has not been good either, winning none of their last five visits and failing to even score in their last two.

Despite being denied victory at the death in midweek, Slade was pleased with his side's performance and could keep changes to a minimum on Saturday, with Matthew Kennedy one of those expected to continue having impressed on his debut.

Alex Revell is pushing for a start ahead of Eoin Doyle up front, while Tom Adeyemi will be hopeful of returning to the starting lineup in midfield.

Federico Macheda, Joe Mason, Anthony Pilkington and Kagisho Dikgacoi are all sidelined, however, while Fabio will undergo a late fitness test.

Huddersfield may not have been expecting to sit above the recently-relegated Cardiff at this stage of the campaign, but the Terriers find themselves a place and a point better off than their opponents, with just three points separating them from 10th-placed Nottingham Forest.

The tightly-grouped nature of the mid-table teams means that a top-half finish is a very realistic goal for Chris Powell's men, although they are still struggling to find any sort of consistency.

They have won four, lost four and drawn two of their last 10 games and, while that is enough to keep them at arm's length from the relegation zone, it will be a frustrating trait for Powell.

Town were not in midweek action but should still be full of confidence having held high-flying Bournemouth to a 1-1 draw at Dean Court last time out, with James Vaughan cancelling out Yann Kermorgant's strike.

That was Vaughan's third goal in as many games and he is once again expected to lead the line, although he could be rejoined by Nahki Wells as Powell opts for a more attacking lineup.

Jonathan Hogg made a short cameo appearance off the bench last weekend but it remains to be seen whether Powell deems him fit enough to start just yet.

Huddersfield's home record as been their major strength this season, but they have lost their last two games in front of their own fans. They haven't lost three league home games in a row since 2000, so will be keen to avoided ending that 15-year record this weekend.

The reverse fixture between these two sides back in August saw Cardiff run out 3-1 winners, with Kenwyne Jones netting a brace for the Bluebirds.

Huddersfield:

Recent form: LWLWLD

Possible starting lineup: Smithies; Smith, Hudson, Wallace, Robinson; Scannell, Coady, Edgar, Butterfield; Wells, Vaughan

Cardiff:

Form in Championship: LLLDDD
Form in all competitions: LLLDDD

Possible starting lineup: Marshall; Peltier, Ecuele Manga, Morrison, Malone; Moone, Gunnarsson, Whittingham, Kennedy; Revell, Jones

Sports Mole says: 1-1


amp_article__206403 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2015-02-19 16:04:35:
html db last update - 2015-02-19 16:04:35 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Read more!
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland1695226121432
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1610422191232
3Burnley168621961330
4Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
5Middlesbrough1683529191027
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom166821811726
7Watford168262524126
8Millwall166641914524
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City165742020022
11Derby CountyDerby165562020020
12Stoke CityStoke165561920-120
13Norwich CityNorwich164752524119
14Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds165471826-819
16Luton TownLuton165381826-818
17Coventry CityCoventry164572223-117
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd164571924-517
19Plymouth ArgylePlymouth164571728-1117
20Preston North EndPreston163761624-816
21Cardiff CityCardiff164481524-916
22Hull City163671621-515
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR161871326-1311
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .