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

Sports Mole previews Friday's Championship clash between Cardiff City and Bristol City, including team news and predicted lineups.

Severnside rivals Cardiff City and Bristol City face off in South Wales in this week's Friday evening clash in the Championship.

Cardiff returned to winning ways in midweek but are still five points behind Bristol City, who themselves ended a five-game winless run last time out.


Match preview

Cardiff City's Harry Wilson celebrates scoring with teammates against Barnsley on November 3, 2020© Reuters

It may still be too early in the season to describe Tuesday's meeting with Barnsley as a must-win game for Cardiff, but the pressure was certainly on to pick up all three points.

After collecting three points from the last 12 on offer - a run culminating in a late 3-2 loss at Queens Park Rangers - the Bluebirds bounced back with a 3-0 win in that midweek clash.

Junior Hoilett put Cardiff in front early on and Joe Ralls added a penalty late in the first half, before Harry Wilson sealed his side's first home victory of the campaign.

It was a much-needed win for the Welsh outfit and puts them just about back in playoff contention, though Neil Harris will know a lot more consistency needs to be shown.

Not since their final three games of the 2019-20 regular season have Cardiff won successive matches, losing five, drawing four and winning four since then.

Bristol City players celebrate after Jamie Paterson's goal against Huddersfield Town on November 3, 2020© Reuters

Bristol City have also been rather hit-and-miss this term, following up a four-game winning streak to begin the campaign with a run of five games without a win.

That run was ended on Tuesday with a 2-1 win at Huddersfield Town - Jay Dasilva's first professional goal and Jamie Paterson's strike sealing a late comeback victory.

The Robins have now won three of their last five away league matches, which stands them in good stead for this trip to the Cardiff City Stadium.

It is a ground that they won at last season through Josh Brownhill's impressive long-range strike.

However, that is one of only four occasions that they have beaten the Bluebirds in all competitions in the last 21 meetings between the sides.

None of the last seven encounters has finished as a draw, but that is a scoreline that would likely suit Bristol City far more than their opponents, who need to target the win as they play catch up.

Cardiff City Championship form: WDDDLW

Bristol City Championship form: DLDLLW


Team News

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

Harris opted to field Kieffer Moore and Robert Glatzel alongside each other for the win over Barnsley, with Hoilett and the returning Wilson providing support from wide.

It is a tactic that paid off, but the Bluebirds may look to freshen things up on Friday as Sheyi Ojo, Josh Murphy and Gavin Whyte are all desperate for minutes.

Lee Tomlin will definitely play no part against his former side due to injury, however, and there are still doubts over the fitness of full-backs Greg Cunningham and Jordi Osei-Tutu.

As for the visitors, boss Dean Holden praised the impact of his substitutes in the win over Huddersfield and may bring a couple of them in for starts in this game.

Antoine Semenyo played a part in both goals and Famara Diedhiou's introduction also paid dividends as the Robins changed shape in the second half.

Holden remains without a number of players as the likes of Nathan Baker, Steven Sessegnon and Alfie Mawson are all nursing injuries.

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Smithies; Bacuna, Morrison, Nelson, Bennett; Ojo, Pack, Ralls, Hoilett; Wilson; Moore

Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Vyner, Moore, Kalas; Hunt, Bakinson, Nagy, Dasilva; Paterson; Martin, Wells


SM words green background

We say: Cardiff City 1-2 Bristol City

Both teams picked up morale-boosting victories last time out and will therefore enter this game with a bit of confidence.

Cardiff tend to perform better away from home, while Bristol City have also averaged more points on their travels this term, so we are backing the visitors to snatch a narrow victory.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data

ID:421039:cQx

Who will win Friday's Championship clash between Cardiff City and Bristol City?

Cardiff City
Draw
Bristol City
Cardiff City
38.5%
Draw
11.5%
Bristol City
50.0%
52
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Bristol City manager Dean Holden pictured in September 2020
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Dean Holden delighted with impact of Bristol City bench in Huddersfield win
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Norwich CityNorwich138321710727
2Bournemouth1375121111026
3Bristol City137331611524
4Brentford146532013723
5Swansea CitySwansea13652158723
6Reading137242017323
7Middlesbrough12561125721
8Stoke CityStoke136342118321
9Watford125521410420
10Millwall134721210219
11Luton TownLuton135441113-219
12Blackburn RoversBlackburn1353525151018
13Queens Park RangersQPR144551620-417
14Barnsley134451414016
15Preston North EndPreston135171617-116
16Huddersfield TownHuddersfield134361517-215
17Birmingham CityBirmingham133641012-215
18Cardiff CityCardiff133551313014
19Rotherham UnitedRotherham133371216-412
20Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest13337916-712
21Coventry CityCoventry133371323-1012
22Wycombe WanderersWycombe13238619-139
23Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds13346712-57
24Derby CountyDerby13139520-156

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