Aiming to break into the top six of the Championship table following a midweek victory, Cardiff City will welcome Bristol City to South Wales on Saturday.
The hosts thrashed Huddersfield Town 4-0 on Wednesday to move to seventh, leapfrogging their visitors in the process, with Bristol City now down in 13th spot despite only trailing by two points.
Match preview
© Reuters
Cardiff City will return to home turf in high spirits at the weekend, having made a return to winning ways on Tuesday to move seventh in the Championship after 13 games of their first season under the management of Erol Bulut.
In those 13 matches, the Welsh outfit have now managed six victories and 20 points, with their success largely coming in attack as only three sides have topped the Bluebirds' tally of 21 second-tier goals so far this term.
That is in no small part down to their resounding 4-0 triumph away at strugglers Huddersfield Town on Tuesday, as Bulut's men bounced back from a three-game winless run, culminating in a 1-0 loss away at Blackburn Rovers on their return from the international break last weekend.
In their trip to West Yorkshire, the Bluebirds went ahead through Callum Robinson inside two minutes, and Dimitrios Goutas and Yakou Meite would add first-half goals before Perry Ng netted their fourth with a free kick early in the second half.
Now taking some renewed confidence from that triumph, having moved back up to seventh spot and only outside of the top six, Cardiff City will aim to make it back-to-back three-point hauls and crack the playoff places at the weekend.
© Reuters
They meet a Bristol City side who are vying to return to winning ways in their trip to Wales, in the midst of what has been a season defined by inconsistency thus far.
In their opening 13 outings, the Robins have picked up five victories and suffered five defeats alongside three draws, leaving them in the tight middle area of the second tier, albeit only two points off Saturday's hosts and the top six.
After returning from the international break with a 1-0 victory at home to Coventry City last weekend, thanks to Robert Dickie's first-half goal, Nigel Pearson's men most recently faced a tough test against second-placed Ipswich Town on Wednesday, and they came away empty-handed having been on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline at Ashton Gate, with Nathan Broadhead netting the only goal inside 20 minutes.
As they head out on the road for the first time since early October, the Robins can certainly take some confidence from their away record in the early stages of this campaign, having managed 10 points in just six trips away from Ashton Gate with only four sides faring better on their travels thus far, two of which have played one more away game.
Bristol City will now aim to again bounce back from defeat on Saturday and lay the foundations for an improved run of consistency at the weekend with a victory which would see them move back ahead of Cardiff.
Team News
© Reuters
Following their resounding victory on Tuesday, Erol Bulut may opt to deploy an unchanged Cardiff City starting XI at the weekend, with key midfielder Aaron Ramsey remaining sidelined alongside winger Callum O'Dowda and attacker Kion Etete.
Midfielder Ryan Wintle was reduced to a substitute appearance against Huddersfield, as the Bluebirds switched to a more attacking 4-2-3-1 shape, and that system should continue with Joe Ralls and Emmanouil Siopis partnering up in the engine room in front of the established centre-back pairing of Mark McGuinness and summer signing Dimitrios Goutas, both of whom have chipped in with two goals so far this season.
The switch in the middle allowed room for Callum Robinson to come in from the start in an advanced role, and after his early goal, he should keep his place in the middle of a supporting trio behind lone striker Yakou Meite, with Josh Bowler and Karlan Grant again expected to get the nod on the wings, despite competition for attacking places from Ike Ugbo, Ollie Tanner and Rubin Colwill.
Bristol City headed into Wednesday's Ipswich contest in somewhat of an injury crisis, particularly in defence, with Rob Atkinson, Zak Vyner, Kal Naismith, Ross McCrorie and George Tanner all sidelined alongside attacker Nakhi Wells, and their issues only worsened as Andy King, who deputised at centre-back alongside Robert Dickie, was forced off in the second half, as was substitute left-back Haydon Roberts.
Given those absences, with no other senior defenders ready to be called on, Cameron Pring may have to move across from left-back to join Dickie at the heart of their back four, with Taylor Gardner-Hickman then set to fill in on the left after previously partnering Matty James in the engine room.
Nigel Pearson does, at least, have more options to choose from in attack, and with Jason Knight likely moving back to join James, Harry Cornick will hope to earn a starting spot in the attacking line after his substitute appearance in midweek, while Sam Bell and Andreas Weimann should both keep their places on the wings, with Mark Sykes also having to fill in in a makeshift role on the right-hand side of the defence.
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Alnwick; Ng, McGuinness, Goutas, Collins; Ralls, Siopis; Bowler, Robinson, Grant; Meite
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O'Leary; Sykes, Dickie, Pring, Gardner-Hickman; Knight, James; Weimann, Cornick, Bell; Conway
We say: Cardiff City 2-1 Bristol City
Bristol City are bound to fight resiliently, as they have throughout the season with each of their last five games finishing with a one-goal margin, but their defensive options are almost exhausted, and with home advantage and the confidence from their dominant midweek display, we envisage the Bluebirds coming out on top in South Wales.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
