SM
Man Utd vs. Chelsea: 22 hrs 4 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data
CC
Championship | Gameweek 44
Apr 20, 2024 at 3pm UK
Cardiff City Stadium
SL

Cardiff
2 - 1
Southampton

Diedhiou (68'), Ashford (90+6')
Phillips (82')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Aribo (12')
Armstrong (43'), Deen Sulemana (81'), Bednarek (90+1')

Preview: Cardiff City vs. Southampton - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Cardiff City vs. Southampton - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Cardiff City and Southampton, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Southampton make the trip to Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon knowing that victory will keep them in the race for automatic promotion from the Championship.

At a time when the Saints occupy fourth spot in the standings, Cardiff are merely playing for pride with a playoff spot now mathematically impossible.


Match preview

With each of the top three failing to win their previous games, Southampton supporters are becoming increasingly optimistic regarding automatic promotion.

At one stage, that became a distant dream courtesy of a run that featured just three wins in 10 games, but Russell Martin's side have since responded with three victories in succession.

A return to St Mary's has proven key as the Saints have posted triumphs over Coventry City, Watford and Preston North End respectively to move to within five points of leaders Ipswich Town.

The Tractor Boys and third-placed Leeds United have each played one game more than Southampton, and success on Saturday would keep Southampton's fate in their own hands with Leicester City and Leeds still to come on their schedule.

However, Southampton travel to South Wales having collected just seven points from their last five away fixtures, as well as failing to prevail in their most recent two such games.

From Cardiff's perspective, a solid campaign under Erol Bulut is ending on a frustrating note with promotion now out of the question.

Four defeats in six matches have put paid to that, with Cardiff now 12 points adrift of sixth position with just three fixtures remaining.

Bulut has witnessed his team lose successive home fixtures to Sunderland and Hull City respectively, making it nine defeats from their 21 games at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Last time out, Cardiff also suffered defeat on their travels, going down by a 3-1 scoreline to an improved Millwall outfit.

Cardiff City Championship form:

Southampton Championship form:


Team News

Bulut will likely make a number of changes to his Cardiff XI, including potentially handing youngster Cian Ashford a first Championship start.

However, with Southampton a promotion contender, Bulut will still name a strong side, with David Turnbull, Ryan Wintle and Famara Diedhiou more likely to be recalled.

Callum O'Dowda and Aaron Ramsey are among a six-strong injury list for the home side.

Meanwhile, Martin may show preference to selecting the same Southampton starting lineup from the win over Preston having been able to rest players in the second half.

Will Smallbone and Joe Rothwell are alternatives in midfield, but goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu has recently been ruled out for the rest of the season.


Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Horvath; Ng, Phillips, Goutas, Collins; Ralls, Wintle; Bowler, Colwill, Grant; Diedhiou

Southampton possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Walker-Peters, Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Manning; Aribo, Downes, S. Armstrong; Brooks, Adams, A. Armstrong


We say: Cardiff City 1-2 Southampton

With the pressure off Cardiff, we expect the Bluebirds to throw caution to the wind in search of maximum points. Nevertheless, Southampton could still edge this contest, aware that they can ill-afford any dropped points.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.




body check tags ::

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


amp_article__541568 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2024-04-20 20:24:02:
html db last update - 2024-04-20 20:24:02 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Read more!
Share this article now:


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!
Recommended Next on SM
Southampton 2022-23 season review - star player, best moment, standout result
Pain for Guardiola! Champions Man City shocked by Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium
The Porto plan: Real Madrid goalkeeper to be part of £67m swap?
A full team of changes? How Chelsea could line up against Man United
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Arsenal105321711618
5Aston Villa95311611518
6Chelsea95221911817
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
8Bournemouth104331312115
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs94141810813
11Brentford94141818013
12Fulham93331212012
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd9324811-311
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace9135611-56
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves90271225-132
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.

history www

Team News: Man Utd vs. Chelsea injury, suspension list, predicted XIs

1

TN

Slot at the summit: Liverpool top the table with comeback Brighton win

NEW

2

SA

"He had a lot of pain" - Slot addresses worrying injury for key player

NEW

3

&H

Preview: Fulham vs. Brentford - prediction, team news, lineups

NEW

4

PF

Team News: Barcelona vs. Espanyol injury, suspension list, predicted XIs

5

TN

Saturday's Premier League predictions including Newcastle vs. Arsenal

6

SP

Transfer blow: Chelsea 'suffer setback' in pursuit of Serie A star

7

TB

Real Madrid 'planning blockbuster move' for £109m-rated German superstar

8

RM

Saturday's Serie A predictions including Monza vs. AC Milan

9

SS

Preview: Dallas Mavericks vs. Orlando Magic - prediction, team news, form guide

10

PD


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