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Cardiff City logo
Championship | Gameweek 42
Jul 7, 2020 at 7.45pm UK
Cardiff City Stadium
Blackburn logo
Cardiff
2 - 3
Blackburn
Vaulks (14'), Glatzel (41')
FT(HT: 2-1)
Graham (22'), Samuel (46'), Armstrong (70')
Travis (88')

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

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Championship clash between Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers, including team news and predicted lineups

Cardiff City will be looking to maintain their good form and tighten their grip on sixth place in the Championship when they play host to Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday evening.

The Bluebirds have gone six matches without defeat and are in possession of the final playoff spot, eight points better off than out-of-form Rovers.


Match preview

Cardiff's Nathaniel Mendez-Laing celebrates scoring against Preston on June 27, 2020© Reuters

Blackburn won their first game back after the Championship season resumed last month - a 3-1 home victory over Bristol City - to close to within one point of the playoffs.

Since then, however, they have lost to Wigan Athletic, Barnsley and Leeds United, seeing them drop down to 11th place in the division.

That is the position Cardiff occupied on their return to action, but they have been in superb form over the past few weeks and are well on course for a top-six finish.

Going further back, it is four wins and two draws for the Welsh outfit in their last six matches, not only seeing them climb into the playoffs but also build up a three-point buffer on the chasing pack.

The most recent of those victories came away at Severnside rivals Bristol City on Saturday, with Danny Ward latching onto fellow substitute Lee Tomlin's pass to fire home a late winner.

Corry Evans celebrates with Blackburn teammates after scoring against Bristol City on June 20, 2020© Reuters

Neil Harris's men now face three successive games against sides chasing them down, though, starting with this visit of Blackburn.

Anything other than three points for Rovers will end their slim hopes of promotion, and recent history suggests that they will be lucky to come away from South Wales with a win.

The Blue and Whites have failed to win any of their last 10 encounters with Cardiff since a 3-2 FA Cup win in January 2005.

Blackburn are also winless in four matches on their travels, losing the last three of those without scoring a single goal.

Cardiff have not exactly been in rampant form on home soil, though, having picked up maximum points only once in six league matches at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Cardiff City's Championship form: DWWWDW

Blackburn Rovers' Championship form: DLWLLL


Team News

Lee Tomlin celebrates scoring for Cardiff on February 8, 2020© Reuters

Cardiff's large squad has come to good use since the restart, with Harris tending to make the right substitutions at the right time.

That was the case again on Saturday as Ward and Tomlin linked up for the winner at Ashton Gate, and the pair should be fit enough to start this clash against Blackburn.

Robert Glatzel is pushing for a recall after recovering from a head injury, while Marlon Pack is an option to come into central midfield should Harris wish to freshen things up.

As for Blackburn, Darragh Lenihan was back involved last time out after missing the trip to Barnsley due to the birth of his son.

Lewis Travis and Sam Gallagher also returned to the side for the defeat to Leeds, but Stewart Downing and Dominic Samuel will be hoping to earn recalls.

Elsewhere, Adam Armstrong scored an impressive free kick against league leaders Leeds and will be looking to add to his tally of 13 goals this term.

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Smithies; Sanderson, Morrison, Nelson, Bennett; Ralls, Bacuna; Mendez-Laing, Tomlin, Murphy; Ward

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Walton; Nyambe, Lenihan, Adarabioyo, Bennett; Downing, Johnson, Rothwell; Samuel, Gallagher, Armstrong


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Cardiff City 1-0 Blackburn Rovers

Cardiff have momentum on their side heading into the final five games of the Championship season. Blackburn, by comparison, have run out of steam and we are expecting their poor away streak to continue on Tuesday.



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Cardiff City win with a probability of 41.58%. A win for Blackburn Rovers had a probability of 32.7% and a draw had a probability of 25.7%.

The most likely scoreline for a Cardiff City win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.77%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.81%) and 2-0 (7.05%). The likeliest Blackburn Rovers win was 0-1 (8.47%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.21%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 2.3% likelihood.


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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CBurnley4629143873552101
3Luton TownLuton462117857391880
4Middlesbrough462291584562875
5Coventry CityCoventry4618161258461270
6Sunderland4618151368551369
7Blackburn RoversBlackburn46209175254-269
8Millwall461911165750768
9West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom461812165953666
10Swansea CitySwansea461812166864466
11Watford461615155653363
12Preston North EndPreston461712174559-1463
13Norwich CityNorwich461711185754362
14Bristol City461514175556-159
15Hull City461416165161-1058
16Stoke CityStoke461411215554153
17Birmingham CityBirmingham461411214758-1153
18Huddersfield TownHuddersfield461411214762-1553
19Rotherham UnitedRotherham461117184960-1150
20Queens Park RangersQPR461311224471-2750
21Cardiff CityCardiff461310234158-1749
RReading461311224668-2244
RBlackpool461111244872-2444
RWigan AthleticWigan461015213865-2742

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