' TEAM NEWS ' CARDIFF CITY V BIRMINGHAM ' MATCH THREAD

CARDIFF CITY v BIRMINGHAM
Championship
SATURDAY 21th March, 3.00pm.
Cardiff City Stadium

Cardiff City : Marshall, Fabio, Malone, Ecuele Manga, Morrison, Ralls, Whittingham, Gunnarsson, Noone, Revell, Jones.

Subs: Moore, Gabbidon, Adeyemi, Kennedy, O’Keefe, Doyle, James


Pay on the day


' Cardiff City must beat Birmingham City at home to avoid worst winless run in 25 years! '

Birmingham bringing over a 1,000 fans

" UPDATED DAILY "



Latest News

' CARDIFF CITY '

David Marshall late fitness test


Scott Malone is likely to step into Connolly's shoes on Saturday with Fabio switching to the other side of defence.

Conor McAleny (hamstring): Highly unlikely to be back on Saturday, but should be available after the international break.

Nicky Maynard (knee) out injured.

Macheda back after one mach suspension.

Kadeem Harris still suspended for 2 more matches.

Pilkinghton and Mason still not fit enough.

Peltier,doubtful.

Kagisho Dikgacoi is about to put an end to his injury frustration and could feature for English Championship side Cardiff in the next few weeks.

Joe Mason, still a few wks of.

' BIRMINGHAM '

Birmingham have been boosted as Matt Green and Gavin Gunning edge closer to fitness.

The duo will not be considered against Cardiff but will play in the under-21s on Monday after long-term knee injuries.

Michael Morrison remains a doubt with an ankle problem but has returned to training.

Stephen Gleeson is available again after serving a three-game ban for a red card.


Possible Lineups

Cardiff City

33 Moore S
21 Ralls
5 Manga
36 Morrison
3 Fabio
30 Kennedy
17 Gunnarsson
7 Whittingham
11 Noone
9 Jones
29 Revell

Birmingham

1 Randolph
31 Caddis
23 Spector
15 Kiernan
3 Grounds
13 Tesche
26 Davis
11 Cotterill
22 Shinnie A
33 Gray
9 Donaldson

Preview

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943. They compete in the Football League Championship, the second tier of league football in England.

As Small Heath, they played in the Football Alliance before becoming founder members and first ever champions of the Football League Second Division. The most successful period in their history was in the 1950s and early 1960s. They achieved their highest finishing position of sixth in the First Division in the 1955–56 season and reached the 1956 FA Cup Final, progressed to the final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1960 and 1961, and won their first major trophy, the League Cup, in 1963, beating Aston Villa 3–1 on aggregate. They won the latter competition for the second time in 2011. They have played in the top tier of English football for the majority of their history. Their longest period spent outside the top division, between 1986 and 2002, included two brief spells in the third tier of the English League, during which time they twice won the Football League Trophy.

St Andrew's has been their home ground since 1906. They have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with Aston Villa, their nearest neighbours, with whom they play the Second City derby. The club's nickname is Blues, due to the colour of their kit, and their fans are known as Bluenoses.

Form - Last 5 Games

Cardiff

Sat 28/02/15 CHA Cardiff City 0 - 1 Wolves
Tue 03/03/15 CHA Rotherham 1 - 3 Cardiff City
Sat 07/03/15 CHA Cardiff City 1 - 2 Charlton Athletic
Sat 14/03/15 CHA Brentford 1 - 2 Cardiff City
Tue 17/03/15 CHA Cardiff City 1 - 1 Bournemouth

Birmingham

Tue 24/02/15 CHA Ipswich Town 4 - 2 Birmingham City
Sat 28/02/15 CHA Birmingham City 1 - 0 Brentford
Wed 04/03/15 CHA Birmingham City 1 - 0 Blackpool
Sat 07/03/15 CHA Derby County 2 - 2 Birmingham City
Sat 14/03/15 CHA Birmingham City 1 - 1 Huddersfield Town


Last 5 meetings

2014/2015 Sat 08 Nov Birmingham C. 0 - 0 Cardiff City Championship
2012/2013 Tue 01 Jan Birmingham C. 0 - 1 Cardiff City Championship
2011/2012 Tue 02 Oct Cardiff City 2 - 1 Birmingham C. Championship
2011/2012 Sun 25 Mar Birmingham C. 1 - 1 Cardiff City Championship
2011/2012 Sun 04 Dec Cardiff City 1 - 0 Birmingham C. Championship


Previous Highlights



Match Odds

Cardiff 21/20
Draw 11/5
Birmingham 11/4

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased in person at the ticket office situated in the Grandstand, next to corporate entrance 2.

Alternatively you can call the Stadium Ticket Office on 0845 345 1400, which is open from 9am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 3pm on non match-day Saturdays.

The easiest way is to book online.
https://www.eticketing.co.uk/cardiffcity/default.aspx

Guess the Score / Attendance

Post your predicted score/attendance below

2-0.

2-1 City

City 3 Brum 1

Tonight will give us confidence I'm going 3-1 city and hopefully a gd performance to back the scoreline

Macheda back after one mach suspension.

Kadeem Harris still suspended for 2 more matches.

Pilkinghton and Mason still not fit enough.

1-2

2-1 City! Finally getting a home win since Fulham hopefully

1-3 its coming

3-1

4-0 this one maybe 4-1.
Were starting to become dominant getting more efforts on target and at goal
weve got talented lads in the team combination of old players hitting form
and new lads having a cracking game.

I think were gonna be all over it 20+ efforts at goal

Kagisho Dikgacoi is about to put an end to his injury frustration and could feature for English Championship side Cardiff in the next few weeks.

The former Bafana midfielder has not played since the end of August through injury, and has endured a disastrous first season with the Welsh club since arriving from Premiership side Crystal Palace at the beginning of the campaign.

While this year has largely been a write-off, he should get a chance to show his qualities to the club's fans ahead of the next season, many of whom have been left disappointed by his lack of appearances.

"Dikgacoi has been out with us [training] for the last couple of days," Cardiff manager Russell Slade revealed, before suggesting the midfielder would not feature for the team for a couple of weeks while he built up his match fitness.

Slade went on to sing the virtues of the player who he sees as an important cog for a club that had hoped to bounce straight back into the Premiership but find themselves languishing in mid-table.

Dikgacoi raised eyebrows when he rejected the chance to stay with Palace and instead take a more lucrative three-year contract with Cardiff. That move has proven ill-fated, with just three appearances in the campaign.

Always look forward to city vs Birmingham for some reason, plus this will only be my third game since Christmas, has not really been worth me having my season ticket due to work, but im going for a city win 2-0

2-1 macheda brace

By Chris Wathan

' Cardiff City must beat Birmingham City at home to avoid worst winless run in 25 years! '

Russell Slade's Bluebirds have gone seven games without a victory in front of their own fans as the Blues arrive in the Welsh capital

Russell Slade’s Cardiff City must beat the Blues at home – or face going down in history for completely the wrong reasons.

Birmingham arrive at Cardiff City Stadium, a venue that has previously been regarded a fortress as much as Ninian Park before it, knowing the Bluebirds have gone seven games without victory in front of their own fans.

Not since January 10, when Fulham were defeated 1-0 on a day of celebration which saw the side back in blue, have supporters been able to cheer a home win.

Ten-and-a-half hours in total as Slade’s Bluebirds have failed to overcome Bournemouth (1-1), Charlton (1-2), Wolves (0-1), Blackburn (1-1), Brighton (0-0), Derby (0-2) and Reading in the FA Cup (1-2).

Having become accustomed to setting records in recent years as part of the club’s upward curve, suddenly an unwanted one comes into Cardiff’s sight.

Because failure to beat Birmingham would make it eight – equalling the worst winless home run across every competition since the Second World War.

It’s an incredible statistic, especially given some of the lean times down at Leckwith over the years.

It could be argued that it reflects a little unfairly on Slade who has seen his side win their last three away from home (Brentford, Rotherham and Wigan) as part of an unbeaten record on the road of five.

But in giving with one hand in ending a pretty woeful away return this term, Cardiff are removing their home foundations by struggling where they are traditionally strong.

The good news for Slade is that failure to win will not represent a Cardiff league record; Frank Burrows’ side of 1986-1987 went ten Division Four games without treating the Bob Bank to three points, but they did win an FA Cup game against Millwall in the midst of that lot.

The bad news is that they are in danger of entering the record books in terms of a winless home run for league and cup games over the past 25 years. Failure against Birmingham would unfortunately put them as joint owners of the worst record in 70 years along with Len Ashurst’s side of 1989 who had to wait until their ninth home game of the season before recording a win over Bury.

Following that winless run in Wales under Burrows a few years earlier, Eddie May’s Cardiff went seven games without success at the start of the 1993/94 season including defeat to Standard Liege in the Cup Winners’ Cup before Terry Yorath’s appointment helped end the home rot with a November win over Stockport.

Burrows was involved again in early January 2000 when three defeats and four draws in the league were played out at Ninian, also taking in Billy Ayre’s appointment before a Friday night win over Colchester.

And then in Dave Jones’ second campaign in the Championship, the side went seven without a win for home fans to celebrate as part of a struggling spell.

Although that run did include five draws with a FA Cup stalemate with Premier League Spurs before a Michael Chopra hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Leicester prompted five straight Ninian wins in a perhaps neat surmise of life under Jones.

Slade’s side will be hoping they too finally set the record straight by not making it eight matches without a home win and joining the class of 89/90 in the books.

Because record books aside, there’s something significant given the team’s – and Slade’s – situation in why winning in front of their own is so crucial, even in an end-of-season straight where neither promotion or relegation are a concern.

While, through a mix of fortune and fighting spirit, Cardiff have at least given reason for some cheer on the other side of the Severn, if Slade is to convince he is the man to start leading the team forward it’s at home he must do it.

Points-wise, it makes little difference where you pick up your wins. A win is a win whether it is celebrated in the local or a five-hour bus trip back home. Regardless, it counts the same in the Championship table.

But the problem Slade has – and has had from the start – is as much about winning over the fans as it is winning football matches.

In truth, he has not done enough of either.

Only the hardy few have seen those three recent wins on the road, rather than the mix of home regulars and frustrated floaters that opt not to travel away.

The travelling support has at least seen the side battle away in games when they could have been blown apart – even at Rotherham and certainly at Brentford – to ensure they are in a position to take their chances and defend like mad to preserve unlikely leads taken.

There was a glimpse of something similar against Bournemouth on Tuesday night and, in fairness, there was a hint of some better football against Charlton at home before some criminal loss of concentration enabled the Addicks to nick a win they probably didn’t deserve.

Supporters want to support by their nature, want to believe and will want to cling to the positives. But they must be given something to grab hold of – and at home is the best place to do it.

In fairness, there seems to be a sense that the players have begun to buy into the manager. Evidence of the effort and the rearguard togetherness has been seen over recent weeks with Paul Trollope’s introduction clearly having played its part.

But if Slade has won over them, then there are many fans that are some way from believing he is the man to take the team on, beyond this summer and into next season where surely such lowering of expectation won’t receive either as much sympathy or apathy.

They have not seen enough in terms of performance and – as the record books threaten to show – the home fans, the majority of fans, have not seen enough wins.

Whether he has a plan worth sticking with is to be seen but failing to deliver winning returns at home will not give him the time or full support he needs to manage without pressure.

It’s harsh given the upturn in away results but if Slade is to show he can make progress, then home is where the start is.

He won’t want to enter the record books on his own at 4.50pm tomorrow as the manager with the worst winless run for a quarter of a century.

City 1 Brum 3

Just can't see us winning, especially at home and without possibly any fullbacks lol

Darren Purse: Birmingham City and Cardiff are very similar clubs

Former Birmingham City defender Purse also played for the Bluebirds and outlines similarities between the clubs' owners

As a man who carries the Cities of Birmingham and Cardiff close to his heart Darren Purse is all too aware of the perils of foreign ownership.

Blues, for whom Purse played for eight years, meet the Bluebirds, where he spent another four, at the Cardiff City Stadium tomorrow for a match that is little more than a dead rubber.

However, that is not to say it is a game without significance as both have experienced a Grand Old Duke of York existence since their respective owners took charge.

Since Carson Yeung rode into St Andrew’s Blues have been relegated, promoted, won the League Cup and been relegated again. Boardroom battles continue to undermine the parent company.

Under Vincent Tan Cardiff have been promoted, within a penalty shoot-out of winning the Capital One Cup, relegated and now mired back in the Championship. In some ways they are still paying the price for their temerity.

When both clubs have been up, they’ve been up and when they’ve been down, they’ve been down – but nowadays both clubs are about halfway up, settled in mid-table of the second tier, albeit after a typically undulating campaign.

And mid-season managerial changes have been largely positive experiences for both with Gary Rowett and Russell Slade bringing much-needed stability.

“There are so many similarities between the clubs,” Purse notes. “They are both big cities, with passionate supporters who let you know if you don’t produce but they will give you their all if they see you working hard.

“They are also similar off the field in that chairmen have come in from abroad not really understanding the traditions of being an owner of an English football club. But at the same time without those foreign owners neither club might have hit the same heights.

“There are undoubtedly positives and negatives. There are some foreign owners who have come in and been good for their clubs, you look at the people behind Arsenal.

“But you look at what’s been going on at Watford for the last couple of years and it’s strange.

“But with all the money at the top end of the game now people around the world can see the prize and want to go for it.

“What you can’t do, though, is run a football club as a business: if you want to be successful in terms of winning trophies you have to accept it’s going to cost money and that you’ll need an owner with deep pockets, someone like Abramovich at Chelsea.

“If you don’t want to go down that route you have to look at clubs like Burnley and Southampton, they are basically doing things the right way and operating within their means and are the clubs you want to emulate.”

Both are in the Premier League, for now at least in Burnley’s case, and Purse would like to see Birmingham and Cardiff back there too.

He is positive Rowett, his old Blues room-mate, is the right man for that job and says he never had any doubts his old mate would turn things round.

“I always knew it would work with Gary because he’s got the club at his heart. If you’ve got Birmingham City in your blood the fans will always buy into what you’re doing.

“He’s achieved that, he’s turned it around and is very much the thinking man’s football manager.”

Preview: Cardiff City vs. Birmingham City


By Callum Mulvihill


Filed: Thursday, March 19, 2015

Two sides sitting comfortably in mid-table go head to head this weekend when Cardiff City host Birmingham City in the Welsh capital.

Cardiff sit just one point and one place above Birmingham in 14th position, and the Bluebirds head into the weekend full of confidence following two impressive results against promotion-chasing sides.

After a 2-1 victory over Brentford last weekend, Russell Slade's side produced another fine display to hold Bournemouth to a 1-1 draw in midweek.

Following up good results has often been a problem for Cardiff this season, but a win could be crucial in boosting their hopes of a top-half finish.

" UPDATE ON 8 CARDIFF CITY PLAYERS "

Thursday 19th March 2015

Mason and Dikgacoi to see reserve team action

Both are a long way from first team football but are in training and are set to have a run out for the U21's tomorrow.

Cardiff have eight senior players out injured. They are listed below.

Also unavailable are Kadeem Harris - suspended. And Matt Connolly has mysteriously been loaned to Watford. He played against Bournemouth for Cardiff on Tuesday in place of the injured Lee Peltier but we have loaned him out? Bizarre.

David Marshall (groin): Rated 50-50 again. Won't be risked until he is 100% ready.

Lee Peltier (hamstring): Rated 40% at best to be ready against Birmingham. The match will come too quickly for him.

Anthony Pilkington (hamstring): Has suffered a couple of setbacks in training and is still a few weeks away.

Conor McAleny (hamstring): Highly unlikely to be back on Saturday, but should be available after the international break.

Nicky Maynard (knee): Still some way off returning to the Cardiff squad.

Joe Mason (hamstring): Will play at under-21 level on Friday. He'll be given 45 minutes or so, a first outing in four months, but don't expect him back in the first team for a while.

Kagisho Dikgacoi (muscle problems): Is to join Mason in the under-21 team to play at Brentford. Has played only three times since last May - and is a long way from full match fitness. He has been in full training and it is hoped he will get through half a game on Friday. Like Mason, he won't be back at first team level for some time yet.

Ben Turner (ankle): Certain to be out for some time yet. Making progress, but may miss the rest of this season.

Matt Connolly's departure is the most incredibly eccentric move I can remember.

Marshall late fitness test

Marshall could be in line to return for the Bluebirds against Birmingham on Saturday


David Marshall could be set to hand Cardiff City a huge home boost as they look to avoid entering the record books against Birmingham.

Bluebirds skipper Marshall has spent the last few weeks on the sidelines with a groin problem, with Simon Moore deputising for the Scotland international.


But as Cardiff seek to end a winless run of seven games in front of their own fans, Marshall could be returned to the starting line-up this weekend if he comes through training on Friday.

Failure to beat the Blues would make it Cardiff's worst home run in 25 years but Bluebirds boss Russell Slade will be hoping his fit again skipper will hand his side the lift they need for a first three points at Cardiff City Stadium since January 10 and a 1-0 win over Fulham.



Slade will also be without Matt Connolly who yesterday completed a loan move to Watford though the club insist it is not a deal with view to a permanent move.

Scott Malone is likely to step into Connolly's shoes on Saturday with Fabio switching to the other side of defence.

Federico Macheda returns after suspension and Slade has no fresh injury concerns over the side which drew with Bournemouth in midweek.

Cardiff v Birmingham preview: Sky Bet Championship team news

20/03/15

Cardiff look set to be without nine first-team players when they tackle Birmingham.

Winger Kadeem Harris' red card at Brentford last weekend means he definitely misses out along with long-term absentees Joe Mason (hamstring), Ben Turner (ankle), Nicky Maynard (knee), Anthony Pilkington (hamstring) and Kagisho Dikgacoi, who is working his way back to full fitness after muscle problems.

Simon Moore is set to continue in goal with Scotland international David Marshall unlikely to be risked as he closes in on a comeback from a groin injury while Lee Peltier is set to miss out once more with a hamstring problem.

Another hamstrung player, attacker Conor McAleny, is likely to join Peltier on the sidelines but there is a welcome return for Federico Macheda after he served his one-game suspension in Tuesday's draw with Bournemouth.

Birmingham have been boosted as Matt Green and Gavin Gunning edge closer to fitness.

The duo will not be considered against Cardiff but will play in the under-21s on Monday after long-term knee injuries.

Michael Morrison remains a doubt with an ankle problem but has returned to training.

Stephen Gleeson is available again after serving a three-game ban for a red card.

1-0 us. Tidy like init butties like mum bruvazz, safe.

Cardiff will be looking to extend our run to just one defeat in our last five to end a positive seven days on a high note against Birmingham at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.

A 2-1 victory against Brentford last Saturday was followed up by a comeback point in the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday, we'll be keen to get another result against Gary Rowett's side.

Russell Slade could be without up to nine first team players due to injuries and suspensions. Kadeem Harris continues his suspension with injuries keeping out Joe Mason, Ben Turner, Nicky Maynard, Anthony Pilkington and Kagisho Dikgacoi.

Lee Peltier continues to struggle as does Everton loanee Conor McAleny with Simon Moore continuing to fill in for David Marshall in goal.

Federico Macheda returns from his one match ban though after his sending off against Brentford.

Birmingham won't be able to use Matt Green and Gavin Gunning but both are close to making their first team return. Michael Morrison is also back in training but an ankle injury will keep him out but Stephen Gleeson is back after a three match ban.

The St Andrew's meeting in November ended in a 0-0 draw, we'll be hoping for a little more on Saturday though and the Bluebirds are unbeaten in the last six meetings going back to September 2008, we've won three of those encounters.

A point would be the least of our expectations as we look to end the season strongly to give ourselves something positive to build on in the summer.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-Head
The earlier encounter this season ended as a goalless draw at St Andrew's in November.
Cardiff are unbeaten in the last six meetings, winning three. Birmingham's last win was 2-1 at Cardiff in September 2008.
They have won three of the last four meetings at home, losing the other.
Cardiff
Russell Slade's side have lost only one of their last four games. Their only defeat this month was 2-1 against Charlton at home on 7 March.
They have not won any of their last seven home games in all competitions, losing four. Their last win at the Cardiff City Stadium was 1-0 against Fulham in the Championship on 10 January.
Birmingham
Gary Rowett's men are unbeaten in their last four games, winning two. Their last defeat was 4-2 at Ipswich on 24 February.
Birmingham have not won any of their last six away games in all competitions, losing two. Their last win on the road was 3-2 at Blyth Spartans in the FA Cup on 3 January.

Cardiff 14th

Cardiff have conceded in 80% of their last 20 home games.

Cardiff have scored in 75% of their last 20 home games.

In their last 20 home matches against teams positioned below them in the table, Cardiff have scored 1.4 goals per game and conceded 0.6 goals per game on average.

Birmingham 15th

Birmingham have conceded in 80% of their last 20 away games.

Birmingham have scored in 65% of their last 20 away games.

In their last 20 away matches against teams positioned above them in the table, Birmingham have scored 1.1 goals per game and conceded 1.7 goals per game on average.

Home support does seem riddled with apathy , we just haven't seen enough good performances/wins,put simply very disappointed .
I think I need to become one of those aforementioned hardy band of away supporters .
City 1 Brum 2

1-1

Cardiff 2-1 Morrison with the opener then a late winner from sub Eoin doyle. Sooner Doyle starts scoring the more confident I will be when I back him to be top championship goal scorer next season.