MATCH THREAD: “ CARDIFF CITY v PRESTON " MATCH THREA

CARDIFF CITY v PRESTON NORTH END
Saturday 20th February, 3pm
Sky Bet Championship
Cardiff City Stadium 


Match to be played in front of no supporters, for information on how to watch the match on TV or to stream it - see below



Unchanged XI. Jonny Williams & @sheyi_ojo on the bench


Greg Cunningham is a Preston player now, so can play v The Bluebird.


Cardiff City: Phillips; Morrison, Flint, Nelson; Ng, Vaulks, Pack, Bennett; Wilson; Murphy, Moore.

Subs: Smithies, Brown, Bagan, Sang, Bacuna, Williams, Harris, Ojo, Watters.




CCFC:


Jonny Williams could make his Bluebirds debut on Saturday after recovering from a knock to his knee.

The Cardiff City playmaker endured a whack to the back of his leg on the eve of the Bristol City clash and has been sidelined since, however he is poised to make his bow.

Sheyi Ojo is also back in the mix after recovering from his stiff hip flexor, however Junior Hoilett and Joe Ralls remain out.

Kieffer Moore and Josh Murphy have emerged as injury doubts though after they sustained knocks against Luton Town in midweek. They were due to undergo a late assessment before the game.

Isaac Vassell remains the long-term absentee, while Jordi Osei-Tutu is still not back to full fitness as he recovers from his hamstring injury.








PRESTON:

Welshman Billy Bodin has suffered an injury setback and is unlikely to feature against the Bluebirds.

Sean Maguire and Ryan Ledson are also missing.

MICK McCARTHY:


Joe Ralls will miss out once again with his ankle problem, with Middlesbrough or even potentially Derby County the return date for him.


Junior Hoilett is still unavailable due to his calf issue, too.

Meanwhile, talismanic striker Kieffer Moore and in-form winger Josh Murphy are also doubtful for the weekend after suffering knocks in the midweek win over Luton Town.



Big Mick

https://cardiffcityforum.co.uk/viewtopi ... 2&t=220584


Jonny Williams trained, Sheyi Ojo trained, so we’ve got those guys ready again.

Joe Ralls still bad ankle


Team news ahead of Preston

None of the lads who played have trained. They are playing and recovering because of the games.

Josh had a knock, Kieffer a bit of a knock, that’s it. They were the two.

They are all getting rubs, massages, stretching and recovering. I’ll see better tomorrow.

Jonny Williams trained, Sheyi Ojo trained, so we’ve got those guys ready again.

Mick McCarthy




TEAM NEWS:

Junior Hoilett, still injured.

Joe Ralls bad ankle still.




Joe Ralls?

His ankle is still not right. He’s not fit for tomorrow, I doubt Wednesday. Might be Middlesbrough, might be Derby.

Mick McCarthy



Lee Tomlin unlikely to start in the first team till March, but played with U23’s for 45 mins this week


Jordi Osei-Tutu Out till March 1st.


Sadly Sol Bamba is seriously ill.


Isaac Vassell is the long-term absentee, not likely this season.




How can I watch this match on TV?

This match is live on Cardiff City TV.

About Preston North End

Preston North End Football Club is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, whose first team currently plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Originally a cricket club, Preston has been based at Deepdale since 1875. The club first took up football in 1878 as a winter fitness activity and decided to focus on it in May 1880, when the football club was officially founded. Deepdale is now football's oldest ground in terms of continuous use by a major league club.

Preston North End was a founder member of the Football League in 1888. In the 1888–89 season, the team won both the inaugural league championship and the FA Cup, the latter without conceding a goal. They were the first team to achieve the "Double" in English football and, as they were unbeaten in all matches, are remembered as "The Invincibles". Preston won the league championship again in 1889–90 but their only major success since then has been their 1938 FA Cup Final victory over Huddersfield Town. The club's most famous players have been Tom Finney and Bill Shankly, who are both commemorated at Deepdale by stands named after them. Other notable players include Tommy Docherty, Alan Kelly Sr. and Graham Alexander.

Until 1961, Preston were usually members of the First Division but, having been relegated after the 1960–61 season, they have not yet returned to the top flight. They were first relegated to the Third Division after the 1969–70 season and have spent 28 of the 49 seasons since 1970 in the bottom two divisions of the Football League, including a span of 19 seasons from 1981-1982 to 1999–2000. Preston has faced serious financial issues and was twice in danger of closure. The club is now owned by businessman Trevor Hemmings and has been established in the EFL Championship since gaining promotion in 2015.

Previous Meeting 

We won 1-0 at Preston in October

Team News - Predicted Line-Ups

Cardiff City: Phillips, Ng, Nelson, Flint, Morrison, Bennett, Pack, Vaulks, Wilson, Murphy, Moore

Preston North End: Iversen, Browne, Storey, Lindsay, Hughes, Whiteman, Molumby, Johnson, Sinclair, Barkhuizen, Evans

Form - Last Three Games

Luton Town 0-2 Cardiff City
Cardiff City 3-1 Coventry City
Rotherham United 1-2 Cardiff City

Preston North End 0-1 Watford
Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Preston North End
Preston North End 1-2 Rotherham United

Match Odds

Cardiff City - 10/11
Preston North End - 16/5
Draw - 23/10

Predictions

Post your predictions below 

I'm going for a City win.

2 clear.

TEAM NEWS:

Junior Hoilett, still injured.

Ojo still out, very doubtful.

Joe Ralls ankle injury, so don’t know till Friday morning.





Lee Tomlin not ready for the first team till March, but played with U23’s for 45 mins this week
And will play next week for U23’s.


Jordi Osei-Tutu Out till March 1st.


Sadly Sol Bamba is seriously ill.


Isaac Vassell is the long-term absentee, not likely this season.

Feel a bit more cautious about the PNE game and would probably accept a draw. Another win however would be incredible, really allowing us to take momentum into the Boro and Bournemouth games.

That's impressive stats from how the city fans are thinking and feeling right now.

2 clear goals although I think we will concede

Updated:

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2 clear goals although I think we will concede

Are you me?

Think we have benifited from playing a series of games against teams who all have virtually no chance of making the playoffs and were fairly safe from relegation though Rotheham and Coventry have been dragged towards the relegation zone. Preston are a classic nothing to play for side,no chance of the playoffs and safe from relegation. Just the sort of side you want to be playing right now.

Things will be different against Bournemouh and Middlesborough.

Think we have benifited from playing a series of games against teams who all have virtually no chance of making the playoffs and were fairly safe from relegation though Rotheham and Coventry have been dragged towards the relegation zone. Preston are a classic nothing to play for side,no chance of the playoffs and safe from relegation. Just the sort of side you want to be playing right now.

Things will be different against Bournemouh and Middlesborough.

Joe Ralls?

His ankle is still not right. He’s not fit for tomorrow, I doubt Wednesday. Might be Middlesbrough, might be Derby.

Mick McCarthy

MICK McCARTHY:




Jonny Williams trained, Sheyi Ojo trained, so we’ve got those guys ready again.

Joe Ralls still bad ankle


Team news ahead of Preston

None of the lads who played have trained. They are playing and recovering because of the games.

Josh had a knock, Kieffer a bit of a knock, that’s it. They were the two.

They are all getting rubs, massages, stretching and recovering. I’ll see better tomorrow.

Jonny Williams trained, Sheyi Ojo trained, so we’ve got those guys ready again.

Mick McCarthy




TEAM NEWS:

Junior Hoilett, still injured.

Joe Ralls bad ankle still.




Joe Ralls?

His ankle is still not right. He’s not fit for tomorrow, I doubt Wednesday. Might be Middlesbrough, might be Derby.

Mick McCarthy



Lee Tomlin not ready for the first team till March, but played with U23’s for 45 mins this week


Jordi Osei-Tutu Out till March 1st.


Sadly Sol Bamba is seriously ill.


Isaac Vassell is the long-term absentee, not likely this season.

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Joe Ralls will miss out once again with his ankle problem, with Middlesbrough or even potentially Derby County the return date for him.


Junior Hoilett is still unavailable due to his calf issue, too.

Meanwhile, talismanic striker Kieffer Moore and in-form winger Josh Murphy are also doubtful for the weekend after suffering knocks in the midweek win over Luton Town.

GREG CUNNINGHAM CAN PLAY FOR PRESTON v CARDIFF CITY

Originally City loaned him out to Preston paying half his wages, then agreed to pay off part of his contract and Preston signed him on a permanent.


Preston snapped up Greg Cunningham on loan from Cardiff in January, bringing the Irishman back to Deepdale until the end of the season.

Under those terms, Cunningham wouldn’t have been able to play this weekend, with EFL prohibiting loan players from facing their parent clubs.

However, Preston turned the move permanent two weeks ago, essentially taking over his contract given that his Cardiff deal would be expiring this summer.


Cunningham was on approx £18,000 a week at Cardiff for the last few years, hardly played any games.

This is big Micks biggest test as are the two after that he had a gentle introduction to his initial fixtures, her comes the acid test, these are the sought of games that Warnock relished and excelled in when gaining promotion, he knew how to get into em and Feck em up

Alex Neil has a wealth of attacking options to call upon as Preston North End head to the Welsh capital to take on Cardiff City in a Sky Bet Championship fixture on Saturday.

North End were defeated in midweek courtesy of a Joao Pedro penalty despite threatening to breach the Watford defence on several occasions but ultimately failed to muster a breakthrough, recording 12 shots but none of them on target.

Now Neil's side encounter a Cardiff side that have conceded just three goals in their last six fixtures and are in resurgent form under the stewardship of Mick McCarthy, having won their last three consecutive fixtures.

The PNE boss hopes to welcome back Ryan Ledson to the first-team fray which increases his options in midfield and Neil may be tempted to revert to the 3-5-2 that brought success against Blackburn Rovers last Friday.

It means we could see the partnership of Ched Evans and Emil Riis Jakobsen come to fruition while Anthony Gordon will be in contention for a spot in the starting XI after coming off the bench against Watford in midweek.

After completing a full 90 minutes at Ewood Park the previous weekend, Greg Cunningham was rested but will likely return, slotting in at left wing-back with Andrew Hughes shifting across to form a central defensive three.

Alex Neil has a wealth of attacking options to call upon as Preston North End head to the Welsh capital to take on Cardiff City in a Sky Bet Championship fixture on Saturday.

North End were defeated in midweek courtesy of a Joao Pedro penalty despite threatening to breach the Watford defence on several occasions but ultimately failed to muster a breakthrough, recording 12 shots but none of them on target.

Now Neil's side encounter a Cardiff side that have conceded just three goals in their last six fixtures and are in resurgent form under the stewardship of Mick McCarthy, having won their last three consecutive fixtures.

The PNE boss hopes to welcome back Ryan Ledson to the first-team fray which increases his options in midfield and Neil may be tempted to revert to the 3-5-2 that brought success against Blackburn Rovers last Friday.

It means we could see the partnership of Ched Evans and Emil Riis Jakobsen come to fruition while Anthony Gordon will be in contention for a spot in the starting XI after coming off the bench against Watford in midweek.

After completing a full 90 minutes at Ewood Park the previous weekend, Greg Cunningham was rested but will likely return, slotting in at left wing-back with Andrew Hughes shifting across to form a central defensive three.

Misquote there,its four wins on trot, not three

Updated:

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What are the odds?

Cardiff win: 19/20
Draw: 12/5
Preston: 14/5

Todays matches:

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What's the team news?

Jonny Williams could make his Bluebirds debut on Saturday after recovering from a knock to his knee.

The Cardiff City playmaker endured a whack to the back of his leg on the eve of the Bristol City clash and has been sidelined since, however he is poised to make his bow.

Sheyi Ojo is also back in the mix after recovering from his stiff hip flexor, however Junior Hoilett and Joe Ralls remain out.

Kieffer Moore and Josh Murphy have emerged as injury doubts though after they sustained knocks against Luton Town in midweek. They were due to undergo a late assessment before the game.

Isaac Vassell remains the long-term absentee, while Jordi Osei-Tutu is still not back to full fitness as he recovers from his hamstring injury.







PRESTON:

Welshman Billy Bodin has suffered an injury setback and is unlikely to feature against the Bluebirds.

Sean Maguire and Ryan Ledson are also missing.

Match facts


Cardiff have won their last two league games against Preston – last winning three in a row against them in October 1972 during a run of eight successive victories.


Preston have kept a clean sheet in each of their last two away league visits to face Cardiff (W1 D1) – they’ve never registered three consecutive shutouts.


Since Mick McCarthy’s first game in charge of Cardiff on January 27th, the Bluebirds have won more points than any other Championship side (14), winning four and drawing two of their six games under him.


Only Norwich City (9) have won more Championship away games than Preston (8) this season.


Cardiff City have scored 21 Championship goals via set pieces this season – at least five more than any other team.

Greg Cunningham is a Preston player now, so can play v The Bluebird.

..................feel quite positive of a result, might even part with some money on it

Unchanged XI. Jonny Williams & @sheyi_ojo on the bench.

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Cardiff City: Phillips; Morrison, Flint, Nelson; Ng, Vaulks, Pack, Bennett; Wilson; Murphy, Moore.

Subs: Smithies, Brown, Bagan, Sang, Bacuna, Williams, Harris, Ojo, Watters.

Bluebirds

Bluebirds

Getting close now and always a bit fidgety; but we can do this against a tough Preston team that will surely give is a game

As you said; Bluebirds...!

Wilson kicks off

City 2 - Preston 1. C'mon Blubirds!