UPDATED LATEST NEWS Cardiff City v Southampton: MATCH THREAD

' Cardiff City V Southampton 3pm Boxing Day '
This will be updated every day


A Capacity Crowd of 28,000 will be attending including 2,700 Southampton Fans.


TEAM NEWS

Cardiff forward Craig Bellamy is still struggling with a knee problem and is unlikely to be involved on Boxing Day.
Fraizer Campbell and Kim Bo-kyung are pushing for recalls, while fit-again striker Andreas Cornelius awaits his first Premier League start.

Southampton quartet Kelvin Davis, Luke Shaw, Nathaniel Clyne and Dani Osvaldo could all be fit to play.
Jose Fonte and Maya Yoshida may feature after minor injuries, but Artur Boruc and Victor Wanyama are out.


" Team News "


Cardiff boss Malky Mackay will hand striker Craig Bellamy a fitness test to see if he can feature against Southampton on Boxing Day. Malky has no other injury worries.

Cardiff have Malak Mackay still in charge and the manager has only one doubt, with Craig Bellamy, who missed the last two games with a knee problem, undergoing a late test.

Southampton, meanwhile, have gone six Premier League games without a win and will hope that Nathaniel Clyne, missing for the last three games with a pelvic injury, can return.
Luke Shaw is another doubt after missing the defeat by Spurs with illness.
Guilu Do Prado, Artur Boruc and Victor Wanyama are still missing.


' Match Notes '
Despite Vincent Tan apparently handing Malky Mackay a stay of execution, attention will inevitably continue on the off-field as the Cardiff fans let their feelings be known.

But in the context of the season, this game could turn out crucial to both teams.


Southampton have not won in six games and after their fine start, the wheels are clearly wobbling and with a trip to Everton and then a vist from Chelsea awaiting they will be desperate to take something from South Wales.


Cardiff, meanwhile, sense an opportunity to put daylight between themselves and the relegation zone, with Sunderland arriving on Saturday.







Cardiff City v Southampton



Possible City side (my side):-


Possible S'oton side:-


Last 5 games against each other:-
29 Mar 2008 ----- Cardiff City 1-0 Southampton ----- League Championship
09 Aug 2008 ----- Cardiff City 2-1 Southampton ----- League Championship
28 Feb 2009 ----- Southampton 1-0 Cardiff City ----- League Championship
28 Sep 2011 ----- Cardiff City 2-1 Southampton ----- League Championship
31 Jan 2012 ----- Southampton 1-1 Cardiff City ----- League Championship

Fact:-
City have won 3 of the last 5 meetings between the two sides.

Prediction:-
Cardiff City 2-0 Southampton (Cornelius & Nooney)

Match Officials:-
Referee: Andre Marriner. Assistants: S Massey, M Perry. Fourth Official: R East.

Match Officials:-
Referee: Andre Marriner. Assistants: S Massey, M Perry. Fourth Official: R East.

I bet sian Massey is gutted super kev won't be playin after what happened in the playoffs

Match Officials:-
Referee: Andre Marriner. Assistants: S Massey, M Perry. Fourth Official: R East.

I bet sian Massey is gutted super kev won't be playin after what happened in the playoffs

Ha ha hell of a shoulder on Kev

I think we should go two up front against Southampton after seeing them today it looked as if they struggled with two men up top, they have a few injuries in the back aswell so we should attack from the start, as long as we have malky on the touchline im happy

Who's missing from Southampton?

Wanyama, Boruc?

Who's missing from Southampton?

Wanyama, Boruc?

Those two are certainly I think. I think Shaw, Clyne and Osvaldo will all be back though.

Southampton injuries updated from today



Club Injuries Player Condition Expected Return*
Southampton 7 L Shaw Illness no date
D Fox Hamstring Injury no date
V Wanyama Calf/Shin Injury 3 weeks
N Clyne Hamstring Injury 3 days
A Boruc Fractured Hand 3 weeks
K Davis Back Injury no date
G Do Prado Knee Injury 2 weeks

Remember Miller scored 2 goals in the last home fixture, great atmosphere as well that night.

I hope we go with that possible City side. We need two frontmen and that midfield is more than capable of supplying them.

i dont think its a coincidence that they have been struggling since losing wanyama. A very important player for then and makes me believe we can really go for this one.

They have plenty in attack though, Jay rodriguez was snatch from us and is certainly proving himself, i wouldnt be surprised to see ward-prowse start this one.


Id take a draw if you offered it to me now, decent result going into Saturdays mammouth match.

Both these teams head into this game under very different clouds as both teams look to stop the rot which seems to have set in during recent weeks. Cardiff are in turmoil off the pitch thanks to Vincent Tan’s best efforts to remove talented manager Malky Mackay from the club and the Saints have stuttered since their early season form saw them challenge for the Champions League places, albeit temporarily.



Cardiff might find home soil more forgiving than the dangerous territory that is Anfield – where the Welsh side lost 3-1 to Liverpool last time out but will be buoyed by the second half performance which saw Cardiff threaten the highly placed Reds through numerous set pieces from Peter Whittingham. Southampton struggled last time out too. The Saints lost at home to an Adebayor-inspired Spurs side – although the result was not a disaster with Tottenham the in-form away side in the division.

Team News

Cardiff have prepared for this game with an almost fully fit squad – Craig Bellamy is the only absentee from Mackay’s squad. The Welshman has a knee problem and there is no return date set at this moment in time. Mackay will hope he’s back sooner rather than later with Cardiff hovering above the relegation zone.

Southampton, on the other hand, are in a less healthy state. The Southerners have no less than seven absentees from their squad for this game – although one man will face a late fitness test. That man is Nathaniel Clyne who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury but could be back in time for the Cardiff game. If Clyne remains unavailable for the Cardiff game then expect him back for the Everton game on the 29th December. Compatriot Luke Shaw is also potentially unavailable through illness. First choice ‘keeper Artur Boruc continues to be sidelined by his fractured hand, meaning three of Southampton’s normal back four could be missing through illness or injury – surely a factor in their leaky defence of late. Wanyama and Do Prado are both sidelined until at least the second week of January so they’ll miss the whole of the festive period. Fox and Davis are both expected to be out until January although no date is set for a return.

Interesting Facts

Cardiff have done okay at home so far this season and have picked up three wins and three draws from nine games. Southampton’s away form is somewhat similar with two wins and three draws registered from eight games thus far. As an attacking force there is still a lot of room for improvement from Cardiff’s point of view, as the second Welsh team in the Premier League have mustered just 120 chances so far this season – an average of around seven per game. Of these chances, only thirteen have been taken – emphasising Cardiff’s goalscoring difficulties. Defensively Cardiff haven’t performed too badly, the defence has kept five clean sheets so far this season – the same number as high flying Liverpool. On the ball, Cardiff average just 45% possession so one would expect Southampton to dominate the ball on Boxing Day (the Saints average a much higher level at 57.35%). In terms of attacking passes, Cardiff have played just 1823 passes in the opposition’s attacking third, compared to Southampton’s 2246 passes.

Southampton find themselves on a poor run of form but can still boast six clean sheets – although four of those came in the first five games of the season. That statistic underlines how much the Saints have struggled as one by one their first choice defence has become unavailable. Shaw has been ill, Clyne has been injured and Boruc is in the middle of a long term recuperation. However, the Saints still boast the second best defensive record in the league – level with Chelsea before the Arsenal game on Monday night – with eighteen goals conceded so far this season, Everton are the only team to better that record with just sixteen goals conceded. In an attacking sense, Southampton have done well by taking 53% of their clear-cut chances this season.

Key Men

Malky Mackay will once again look to Jordon Mutch to supply Cardiff’s engine in the centre of the midfield. The young man only has a 69% pass completion rate but his industry, effort and determination cannot be ignored. Mutch has won 100% of his tackles in seven different games for Cardiff this season – including matches against some of the big boys such as Arsenal, Everton and Newcastle United. To compliment this, Mutch averages a winning tackle once every 57.93 minutes. Mutch also averages a winning challenge, of any kind, every 9.4 minutes. That last statistic, in particular, underlines exactly what Mutch brings to the team. The central midfielder also scored against Liverpool last time out, so watch this space.

Southampton’s key man will surely be Adam Lallana. During Southampton’s recent bad run of form, the captain has lead the line admirably and tried to revive the Saints’ prospects all by himself. The captain has four goals to his name already, operating mostly from the wings and the Englishman has registered upwards of 90% passing accuracy in two games this season – against Liverpool and Manchester United. If I was Lallana’s coach I’d be saying to him that he needs to shoot more because he obviously has the ability to score goals but the Saint only manages a shot on target once every 400 minutes which is far too long a gap. Lallana has also created 29 chances for his team-mates so far this season, with three of those chances leading to goals.

Prediction

For this game I’m going to go for a 1-1 draw. Cardiff are at home and have had some impressive results there, against City for instance, so I’d back them to avoid defeat against a misfiring Southampton. I also fancy the Saints to nick a goal so I’ve gone for the draw. I think both teams would take it. Cardiff would take a draw against any top half side and Southampton need to slowly rebuild some confidence so I’m not expecting a gung-ho game of end to end football.

I don't see why we should be scared.

Btw, ben davies has shit all over Luke Shaw in terms of stats, so I don't see him as a threat. We closed out Baines before.

Should be a good one. Play Kim and have a go please.

Who's Malak?

Got a good record against these and they're on a right dip.

3-1 City I say, attacking performance for the full 90. Campbell, Noone and a Whittingham penalty

Rodriguez for them

0-1

Every one will be blaming tan fo inept defending 2-0

We are getting smashed, this could really get ugly.

Every one will be blaming tan fo inept defending 2-0

0-2

bullshit. Can see all this tan/malky shit is effecting the players

im not staying up to watch this shit

im not staying up to watch this shit

Go to bed then

im not staying up to watch this shit

Go to bed then

isnt that what he said hes doing

Every one will be blaming tan fo inept defending 2-0

Yep, Malky has a ready made excuse these days to make up for all the mistakes he and the team make. Absolute joke. He should have gone after the Palace game.

Every one will be blaming tan fo inept defending 2-0

Yep, Malky has a ready made excuse these days to make up for all the mistakes he and the team make. Absolute joke. He should have gone after the Palace game.

More like the malky lovers excuse! Yes he maybe should have gone then,

im not staying up to watch this shit

Go to bed then

isnt that what he said hes doing

I always stay up to watch games (being midnight here and I have work tomorrow) but if this is the quality its not worth it

HT. 0-3

One of these three things need to happen.

1. Tan and malky resolve their issues.

2. Tan sacks malky and replaces him ASAP.

3. Tan sells up.

This needs to stop now, its getting ridiculous. First season in the Premier League and we go through more drama than under the Riddler.

It's obviously having an affect on the players.

One of these three things need to happen.

1. Tan and malky resolve their issues.

2. Tan sacks malky and replaces him ASAP.

3. Tan sells up.

This needs to stop now, its getting ridiculous. First season in the Premier League and we go through more drama than under the Riddler.

It's obviously having an affect on the players.