Aiming to move themselves back into playoff contention following a poor run of form, Cardiff City will welcome relegation-threatened Stoke City to the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the Championship.
The Bluebirds shared the spoils with Blackburn Rovers during a midweek clash, while the Potters' most-recent fixture ended in defeat against Coventry City.
Match preview
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Cardiff's winless run in the Championship extended to four matches in an uninspiring goalless draw against John Eustace's Blackburn on Tuesday night at the Cardiff City Stadium, although the share of the points halted a worrying three-game losing streak for the Welsh side.
After shipping eight goals in three defeats to Preston North End, West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City since the beginning of February, the Bluebirds will be pleased with their defensive showing last time out against Rovers, who were unable to breach the net of January arrival Ethan Horvath.
Following a spell of just the single win from their last seven Championship matches, Erol Bulut's men are currently languishing in 14th position in the second-tier standings, a sizeable 13 points behind sixth-placed Hull City and just nine points above Queens Park Rangers in 22nd.
The Bluebirds are still in the process of embedding a host of their winter signings, including former Celtic man David Turnbull and ex-Bristol City poacher Famara Diedhiou, with the latter being a secondary option for Bulut after he was unable to lure Kieffer Moore to South Wales.
Converting dominance in possession into clear-cut chances and goals has been a glaring issue for Cardiff this season, with defenders Perry Ng and Dimitrios Goutas currently leading the Golden Boot race at the club with just five and four Championship goals respectively.
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Following a much-needed maximum over relegation rivals QPR in the Championship on Valentine's Day, Stoke failed to make it back-to-back wins for the first time since late October, falling to a narrow defeat at the hands of Mark Robins's playoff-chasing Coventry outfit last Saturday.
The Potters arguably had the better of the chances but were ultimately unable to beat Ben Wilson in the Sky Blues' net, with former Sunderland loanee Ellis Simms bagging the game-winning goal for the visitors as their charge for the top-six positions continues to gather pace.
After sacking former manager Alex Neil at the end of 2023, Steven Schumacher has not yet managed to pull Stoke away from serious danger at the foot of the second-tier table, with Saturday's visitors occupying 19th position ahead of the weekend, just three points ahead of Marti Cifuentes's QPR.
Suffering back-to-back 3-1 defeats on their Championship travels most recently against Sunderland and Blackburn, those of a Potters persuasion making the trip to Wales will not be the most optimistic on Saturday, especially considering that Stoke are winless during their last five visits to the Cardiff City Stadium.
Schumacher's squad contains a number of players who can provide a magical moment at times, including summer arrival Andre Vidigal, with the Portuguese winger netting five goals in 23 second-tier appearances since swapping the Primeira Liga for the Potteries in July 2023.
Team News
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Cardiff are doubtful over the availability of first-choice goalkeeper Jak Alnwick, who has not featured since the 2-0 defeat against Preston due to a knock.
Mark McGuinness has been a regular figure at the heart of the Bluebirds' defence alongside Goutas since term, but the 23-year-old is now sidelined until April with a hamstring injury.
Ex-Reading attacker Yakou Meite has succumbed to the same issue as his Irish teammate, with the Ivorian not expected back in action until next month.
After his side fired a blank against Coventry last time out, Stoke boss Schumacher could hand starts to a pair of attackers making their ways back from injury, namely Vidigal and Tyrese Campbell.
Jack Bonham started in goal versus the Sky Blues due to the dead leg of Daniel Iversen, who could be back in between the sticks on Saturday afternoon.
Luke McNally missed last weekend's clash because of a thigh injury, but the centre-back might be available to partner Michael Rose or Ben Wilmot in the defence this weekend.
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Horvath; Romeo, Phillips, Goutas, Collins; Siopis, Wintle, Bowler, Colwill, Grant; Etete
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Iversen; Hoever, Wilmot, Rose, Thompson; Baker, Pearson, Gooch, Cundle, Vidigal; Lowe
We say: Cardiff City 1-1 Stoke City
Cardiff's season is beginning to stagnate following a worrying run of results, and we cannot envisage a change in the Bluebirds' fortunes on Saturday.
Stoke have been more competitive in matches recently under Schumacher, and we believe that the Potters will be good enough to return to Staffordshire with a point.
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Carter White
