MATCH THREAD: CARDIFF CITY v LEEDS UNITED " MATCH THREAD

CARDIFF CITY v LEEDS UNITED
Sunday 21st June, 12pm
Sky Bet Championship
Cardiff City Stadium 

Cardiff City's first match since the COVID-19 pandemic halted all sport in the UK

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



CARDIFF CITY:

19/06/20

Cardiff City have a few notable names, once again chiefly right back Jazz Richards, who injured his calf while doing his own fitness during lockdown.

Greg Cunningham and Isaac Vassell are also injured, but Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Lee Tomlin are set to contend for starting berths this weekend, both having recovered from fitness issues before the enforced break.



Lee Tomlin and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing played both against Cheltenham and Swansea City and are available for Leeds United.

Greg Cunningham also back training next week, too, ahead of schedule.


LEEDS UNUTED:

Pablo Hernandez could be a doubt for Leeds United this weekend
Leeds United are sweating over the fitness of attacking duo Pablo Hernandez and Jean-Kevin Augustin ahead of their encounter with Cardiff City this Sunday.


CARDIFF CITY:

Lee Tomlin is fit



Jazz Richards is once again out injured.


"Greg Cunningham and striker Isaac Vassell wont be playing again this season, this season is over for them both."

"Lee Tomlin is looking good again and ready to start."

"Mendez-Laing will also now be available."

Neil Harris reflected on the Bluebirds’ first week back in training as he spoke to Cardiff City TV.

The City boss praised the efforts of his coaching and playing staff in getting back up and running at the Vale Resort.

“Being back in the training ground, it’s starting to feel like a football club again,” he began. “And I’m feeling like a football manager again!

“There’s been a lot of discussion between me, my staff and players over the weeks gone by, to make sure everyone feels comfortable in coming back.





How can I watch this match on TV?

This match is live on Sky Sports. For those who are season ticket holders and do not have a Sky Sports subscription, you can watch the match for free on Cardiff City TV.

For non-season ticket holders who want to watch the match, you can watch on NOW TV with a day pass for £9.99 - this will also give you access to all other events on Sky Sports for the 24 hour period starting from when you activate your pass.

About Leeds United

Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1919 following the disbanding of Leeds City F.C. by the Football League and took over their Elland Road stadium. They play in the Championship, the second tier of English football.

Leeds United have won three English league titles, one FA Cup, one League Cup, two Charity/Community Shields and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups. The club reached the 1975 European Cup Final, losing to Bayern Munich. Leeds also reached the semi-finals of the tournament's successor, the Champions League in 2001. The club were runners-up in the European Cup Winners Cup final in 1973. The majority of the honours were won under the management of Don Revie in the 1960s and 1970s.

Leeds play in all-white kits at home matches. The club's badge features the White Rose of York together with the monogram LUFC. The club's anthem is Marching on Together. Leeds share rivalries with Manchester United, Chelsea and Millwall, as well as with local teams such as Huddersfield Town, Bradford City and Sheffield Wednesday.

Previous Meeting 

We drew 3-3 at Leeds in November.

Team News - Predicted Line-Ups

Cardiff City: Smithies, Sanderson, Nelson, Morrison, Bennett, Vaulks, Bacuna, Ralls, Hoilett, Adomah, Paterson

Leeds United: Meslier, Ayling, Berardi, Cooper, Dallas, White, Costa, Hernandez, Klich, Harrison, Bamford

Form - Last Three Games   

Barnsley 0-2 Cardiff City
Cardiff City 2-2 Brentford
Cardiff City 0-1 Nottingham Forest

Leeds United 2-0 Huddersfield Town
Hull City 0-4 Leeds United
Middlesbrough 0-1 Leeds United

Match Odds

Cardiff City - 4/1
Leeds United - 4/6
Draw - 11/4

Predictions

Post your predictions below 

Difficult to do predicted line ups for this, given that neither team has played a competitive match for three months.

For the avoidance of doubt, I have put the predicted line ups as the ones that were in the original match thread before the match was cancelled in March.

Obviously the previous results section is the last three competitive results for each team.

Gone for a city win,will be won by the odd goal,so 2-1 city,after being a goal,down c'mon city

Can I first say brilliant to see match day thread up again
4/1 we are with the bookies definitely £10 on that 2-1 bluebirds

City 3-1

Hit the ground running 2-0 to the Bloobirds

1 nil City

Leeds usual demise will continue.

CARDIFF CITY:

Lee Tomlin is fit


"Greg Cunningham and striker Isaac Vassell wont be playing again this season, this season is over for them both."

"Lee Tomlin is looking good again and ready to start."

"Mendez-Laing will also now be available."

Neil Harris reflected on the Bluebirds’ first week back in training as he spoke to Cardiff City TV.

The City boss praised the efforts of his coaching and playing staff in getting back up and running at the Vale Resort.

“Being back in the training ground, it’s starting to feel like a football club again,” he began. “And I’m feeling like a football manager again!

“There’s been a lot of discussion between me, my staff and players over the weeks gone by, to make sure everyone feels comfortable in coming back.

Very difficult to call this as there's no current form to base a prediction on. An empty ground will make home advantage void except that our team wont have to travel. It's going to be great having football back and I can't wait.

City 3 Leeds 1

Jazz Richards is once again out injured

Lee Tomlin and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing played both against Cheltenham and Swansea City and are available for Leeds United.

Greg Cunningham also back training next week, too, ahead of schedule #CCFC #Bluebirds

I never predict a score and on this occasion I'm just happy that football is coming back...!

Obviously it's a 1-2 leeds win it could be more if we hit the ground running. .

I think this will be a great match

Probably a high scoring draw

I would play a 433 as it suits our squad when fully fit with our wingers as a front three

Smithies
Sanderson
Bamba
Morrison
Bennett

Pack
Ralls
Tomlin

Murphy
Mendez
Hoilett

I’m going For a very ambitious city 3-1 Win!

I'm going for a lethargic 1-1 draw.

Smithies

Sanderson
Nelson
Morrison
Bennett

Vaulks
Ralls

Murphy
Tomlin
NML

Paterson

The six months of hurt weighing heavily on Leeds United's Marcelo Bielsa and where Cardiff City have the advantage

Cardiff City welcome Leeds United this weekend as the Championship campaign gets back underway and it is set to be an almighty showdown

By Glen Williams

Monday 15th June 2020



Marcelo Bielsa was left reeling after his side surrendered a three-goal lead to Cardiff City back in December
By and large, it has been a middling season for Cardiff City, few ardent fans would deny that.

The Bluebirds started poorly, suffering from a Premier League relegation hangover, before Neil Harris took the reins and battled to get within two points of the play-off spots.

There are few moments, or matches, this season, City supporters would point to as being extraordinary or incredibly memorable, but that bitterly cold night up at Elland Road just before Christmas was jam packed with them.

Leeds United shot out of the blocks quickly and hit City for two quick goals, before adding a third after the break to seemingly seal the visitors' fate.

But Cardiff showcased immense resilience, a hallmark of Harris' tenure to date, to ensure the tie was not lost.

A three-goal turnaround in the last half an hour of the match, including two moments of utter genius from Lee Tomlin — a beautifully lobbed goal to net City's first before an exquisite, back-heeled, volleyed assist set up Robert Glatzel to bury the equaliser in the dying seconds — snatched the unlikeliest of draws from the jaws of defeat.



It was a moment which stunned the 30,000-plus Leeds supporters into silence and sent the travelling Bluebirds into hysteria.

Harris' men went on to lose only one of their following 11 games, while Marcelo Bielsa's side endured a terribly-barren run of winning just two of their 11 fixtures after crumbling at the hands of the Bluebirds.

Leeds, of course, managed to get back to winning ways, indeed they won their previous five matches before the Championship stopped owing to the outbreak of coronavirus, but that surrender against Cardiff City has weighed heavily on Bielsa's mind.

"We are experienced in every type of situation in this Championship," the Argentine said in February, two months after the draw with Cardiff.

"I feel we have more resources to manage the different kinds of matches, but I cannot forget this season we were winning 3-0 and drew the match."

Given Leeds have had to wait three months for this fixture, that catastrophe up at Elland Road will have had far longer to stew with the manager.

Leeds have won just three of the last 24 encounters with the Bluebirds, so it is fair to say that, for whatever reason, the Welsh club have had the wood over their English counterparts in a run that stretches back to the mid-1980s.

How much we can read into form and history is anyone's guess at the moment, given the length of the lay-off, but if Leeds are buoyed by their last five results, City fans will be heartened by their club's incredible record against the Yorkshire outfit.

The other big advantage, of course, is that the tormentor-in-chief from that Elland Road clash six months ago, Lee Tomlin, is fit again and raring to go.

If there is a psychological battle at play here, it is certainly one big area Cardiff should be playing on and trying their utmost to exploit.

Because a win against the league leaders will serve as an enormous confidence booster in this mini charge towards the play-off spots.

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' NINE SUBSTITUTES ALLOWED '



The likely Cardiff City XI to face Leeds United and what the team looked like before football stopped



We might see some of the academy products occupy roles on the bench, given City are now allowed to name nine substitutes.
The team Neil Harris picks to play against Leeds United this weekend will likely have some changes from the last match they played.



By Glen Williams

Monday 15th June 2020


We are likely to see changes from the Cardiff City team who last played, away at Barnsley back in March
The nation is abuzz ahead of of football's imminent return.

Cardiff City are finally back in action against Leeds United this weekend and, although it will look very different, it is fair to say supporters are gripped with excitement.

The Bluebirds' last match against Barnsley, an impressive 2-0 away win, seems a lifetime ago, but the excitement among City fans is beginning to reach fever pitch.

There will be no greater yardstick for Neil Harris and his men than coming up against Leeds this weekend, given Marcelo Bielsa's side have been far and away the best in the division this season, save a mid-season blip after relinquishing a three-goal lead to the Bluebirds before Christmas.

But, thankfully for Harris, it appears he will be afforded the luxury of being able to choose his strongest team, which they will certainly need if they are to kick-start this nine-game run-in with a precious victory.

Jazz Richards, Greg Cunningham and Isaac Vassell will all miss the fixture through injury, although it can be said that none of those three would have forced their way into the first-choice starting XI anyway.

The big news is that Lee Tomlin and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing are both back in contention and that is a huge bonus for Harris heading into this huge encounter.

Neither were available before football stopped and, in Tomlin's case in particular, results dipped without the key men leading the attack.

In Tomlin's absence, Harris had to compensate by employing a flat midfield three, up at Barnsley that was a combination of Leandro Bacuna, Joe Ralls and Will Vaulks.

But given the playmaker has been City's best player this season, if he is anywhere near full fitness Harris will doubtless slot him straight back into the side.

As for Mendez-Laing, few would argue that he is in the top two wingers at the club, so the same, really, applies for him.

The wingers have arguably been City's most inconsistent players this season, however Albert Adomah has brought a consistently high standard since he was signed from Nottingham Forest on deadline day back in January, so it is unlikely he will be ousted from the side.

It could see Mendez-Laing shift over to the left-hand side, with him and Adomah flanking Tomlin in an exciting trio in behind Callum Paterson, who has earned the right to keep the shirt up front.

The same can be said, too, for Will Vaulks, who has become an integral part of this Bluebirds setup since Christmas and will doubtless take his spot in the middle of the park. Whether the Wales international sits alongside Ralls, Bacuna or Marlon Pack, however, is another debate all together.

Given it's a midfield two, it will likely be one of Bacuna or Ralls, both of whom boast dynamism and a box-to-box engine which can affect the game at both ends of the pitch. Bacuna has been an mainstay this season, though, and Harris has entrusted him with that role on many occasions, so expect him to get the nod.

The back four will be as you were, given Sean Morrison and Curtis Nelson have struck up quite the partnership at centre back and Joe Bennett and the hugely-talented Dion Sanderson are nailed on as full backs.

Alex Smithies, too, has been mightily impressive between the sticks this season and will continue to keep Neil Etheridge sidelined, no doubt.

Another added dimension moving forward, at least for the rest of the season, is that we might see some of the academy products occupy roles on the bench, given City are now allowed to name nine substitutes.


Cardiff City likely XI (4-2-3-1) : Smithies; Sanderson, Morrison, Nelson, Bennett; Vaulks, Bacuna; Adomah, Tomlin, Mendez-Laing; Paterson.

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Exclusive: Leeds star braced for huge test v ‘Brilliant’ Cardiff player – Whelan

18th June 2020



Noel Whelan insisted Luke Ayling will have to be wary of the “fantastic” Josh Murphy as Leeds United return to Championship action against Cardiff City on Sunday.

The former Elland Road striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider correspondent Dylan Childs, suggested the 25-year-old poses the main threat to Leeds from open play along with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.

Murphy will likely line up on the left hand side for Neil Harris’ side and Luke Ayling will be tasked with muting the winger who has scored six and assisted three this season.



Cardiff’s joint top-scorer Lee Tomlin has been declared fit for the restart along with Mendez-Laing who has been out since December with a ruptured hamstring.

Whelan pointed out that the fixture is as important for Cardiff as Leeds with the Welsh side chasing a spot in this year’s Play-Offs.

When asked by Football Insider if Ayling would have his hands full with Josh Murphy this weekend, Whelan said: “Murphy is a great player – an absolutely fantastic player. It will be a great matchup.

“Murphy was fantastic at Norwich. Great player with a great turn of pace and brilliant skills.

“There will be fantastic matchups all over the pitch.

“We will have to keep an eye out for Laing as well, powerful player with great pace.

“With players like that coming off the wing you need to be wary. If we’re not fully at it they could cause us a lot of problems.

“Cardiff have a lot to play for so this is not cut and dry. This is a really important stage for everyone.”



The Bluebirds are currently ninth and just two points off the Play-Off spots.

Leeds versus Cardiff is the final fixture of the weekend and the Championship leaders could be second and just four points ahead of Fulham when they kick off on Sunday.

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Pundit fires Cardiff City warning the way of Leeds United

By Alfie Burns


18/06/2020



Noel Whelan has warned Leeds United that they will have to be alert to Cardiff City’s physical strengths this weekend, as Marcelo Bielsa’s side look to hit the ground running as the Championship restarts.

Leeds sit top of the Championship table ahead of the restart, but they are met by a tough Cardiff clash when they resume this Sunday.

Neil Harris’ side staged a brilliant comeback at Leeds in December to draw 3-3, using their physicality to disrupt Leeds at 3-0 and witnessing Bielsa’s side crumble at Elland Road.

And, ahead of this weekend’s trip to Cardiff, Whelan has warned the Whites they will have to be wary of the Bluebirds’ threat.

Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “It is a game that we need to be very, very wary of. We know the strengths that Cardiff possess.

“We know they can play football but they pose such a threat when it comes to set pieces because they have giants at the back. They use those physical attributes and that domination that they can have over teams, corners, free kicks.

“We need to be completely on it because we have not covered ourselves in glory when it comes to set pieces this season.

“The concentration levels need to be high and the body contact has to be there from the word go. They will push that and try to put it in the box at every opportunity because they are a much bigger, stronger side than us.

“If it comes down to technical ability we will win the game.”

Leeds enter this weekend a point clear of West Brom, who take on Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon.

However, more importantly, there is a seven-point gap to Fulham in third, with the Cottagers also in action 24 hours prior to Leeds’ game in Cardiff, as they take on Brentford.





The Verdict

Harris knows how to play against Leeds and Bielsa will have to have his side set up in just the right way to combat that.

Leeds will have to defend set-pieces in a way they haven’t managed all season and you feel this will be a real key factor in where the points end up on Sunday afternoon.

Whilst Leeds have to be aware of Cardiff’s threat, the same will apply the other way, with the Whites having the potential to really hurt Harris’ side either on the break or by bossing the ball.

June 2020

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NEIL HARRIS UPDATES CARDIFF FANS AND
Link
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=215524

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I think this will be a great match

Probably a high scoring draw

I would play a 433 as it suits our squad when fully fit with our wingers as a front three

Smithies
Sanderson
Bamba
Morrison
Bennett

Pack
Ralls
Tomlin

Murphy
Mendez
Hoilett

I really hope you’re way off the mark with that team. Good job you don’t pick the team
I’m not quite sure what it is you got against Nelson, I’d say he is one of our best defenders.
You’ve even left our most consistent midfielder out, Vaulks That midfield you got would get murdered.

I’m going for a 1-0 City win and the team I predict is:

Smithies
Sanderson
Morrison
Nelson
Bennett

Vaulks
Bacuna

Tomlin

Murphy
Patterson
Mendez-Laing

Cardiff City have a few notable names, chiefly right back Jazz Richards, who injured his calf while doing his own fitness during lockdown.

Greg Cunningham and Isaac Vassell are also injured, but Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Lee Tomlin are set to contend for starting berths this weekend, both having recovered from fitness issues before the enforced break.

LEEDS UNITED:




Pablo Hernandez could be a doubt for Leeds United this weekend
Leeds United are sweating over the fitness of attacking duo Pablo Hernandez and Jean-Kevin Augustin ahead of their encounter with Cardiff City this Sunday.

This weekend

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Programme arrived...

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Come on you Bluebirds

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