Mon Mar 28, 2016 12:59 pm
" Why Cardiff City face a defining week as they seek to overhaul Sheffield Wednesday in the play-off hunt "
BY PHIL SMITH
28/03/16
The Owls have a favourable run-in and Cardiff City will have to be at their best to stay in contention before the two sides meet on the penultimate day of the season.
Russell Slade and his players will step up their preparations this week knowing that they face a defining seven days in their fight for sixth place.
Three points is the gap, and anyone who follows the game knows how little it takes to bridge that divide.
A wonder strike, a slip, a rash challenge.
On such moments will the Bluebirds' destiny be decided.
The biggest challenge will be to get their future in their own hands, a task that is made all the harder when you consider the fixture list of over the next fortnight and beyond.
For Cardiff, two enormous games in four days.
A home tie against inconsistent but talented and well-backed Derby County on Saturday, before a trip to Turf Moor on Tuesday.
Going away to Burnley is comfortably the toughest gig in the division at the moment, and yet the Bluebirds' will know that Sheffield Wednesday could be getting out of reach if they don't get something out of it.
For the Hillsborough team, the wind is very much in their sails.
There are taking massive followings all over the country, with every game feeling like a home tie.
They also look to be over their wobble, responding to a five game winless streak by thumping Notthingham Forest and Charlton three-nil.
In the latter game, all three goals came in a cathartic fifteen minute second-half period, sending them into the international break on an almighty high.
They return on Saturday to face David Wagner's Huddersfield, before a home game against Blackburn.
Two decent sides, for sure, but also two sides in mid-table without much to play for other than their own pride.
That gives the Owls a considerable advantage over the Bluebirds, and Slade's men need to ensure they haven't left themselves too much to do by the time they arrive at Craven Cottage a week on Saturday.
Sheffield Wednesday's fixture list throws up three particularly challenging games. One against the Bluebirds on the penultimate day of the season, as well as games against Ipswich Town and Derby County.
Elsewhere, their games are mostly against clubs left in the lurch between the relegation scrap and the play-off push.
It underlines the scale of the challenge facing Cardiff in the coming weeks.
They are more than capable of overhauling what remains a narrow three point gap, but they know that they can afford precious few slips on the way.
Sheffield Wednesday's run-in
April 2 - Huddersfield (A)
David Wagner is impressing everyone in the energetic team he has built but the play-offs are out of reach and relegation looks unlikely. A banana skin but one that The Owls should have enough to overcome.
April 5 - Blackburn Rovers (H)
Paul Lambert has eased relegation fears but they've lost two of the last three and remain short of firepower in attacking positions.
April 9 - Bristol City (A)
Bristol have been in great form over the last month under Lee Johnson but Cardiff's comfortable win at Ashton Gate will have shown Sheff Wed the way
April 16 - Ipswich Town (H)
A Mick McCarthy team in the championship is always devilishly difficult to beat at this stage of the season, even if their strikers haven't really fired so far this season
April 19 - MK Dons (H)
Karl Robinson's men have sorely missed Delle Alli's brilliance this campaign, and Rotherham's resurrection under Neil Warnock means they are fighting for their lives
April 23 - Derby County (A)
Much like the Bluebirds on Saturday, much will depend here on how whether Derby can lay the demons of last season's spectacular collapse to rest. This will be a big challenge.
April 30 - Cardiff City (H)
The big one. The task for Russell Slade will be to keep his men in contention until this point. Anything can happen if he does.
May 7 - Wolves (H)
They had looked like a good bet to be play-off contenders themselves at the start of the campaign, but have not recovered from a spate of injuries on top of the sale of Benik Afobe.
The Verdict
In their best form, Sheffield Wednesday could easily land 14 points from those last eight games.
That means Cardiff will have to secure at least 17 from there's to overtake them.
With two difficult games coming up, they will have to go up yet another level.