Cardiff v Wolves Preview

Posted on | October 31, 2008 | No Comments

This looks set to be the highlight of the Championship weekend, with both sides in top form and sitting in 1st and 3rd in the table. Wolves are a team that’s always been up there this season, while Cardiff’s position has been more down to gradual progress and they’ve quietly risen to just one place outside the automatic slots.

Cardiff’s start to the season was hardly a rampant one yet recent form has propelled them up to 3rd in the table. The Bluebirds have won four of their last six games and after years of being a “nearly” side, they finally look to be making a serious challenge for the Promised Land. Questions were raised when Dave Jones brought in strikers Jay Bothroyd and Ross McCormack yet both seem to be repaying the faith that their manager had in them. Bothroyd, who was coincidently signed from opponents Wolves, has managed three goals in his last six games, while McCormack leads the division’s scoring charts with ten goals. Other than those two, goals aren’t exactly flying in from all directions for the Ninian Park side, yet they seem solid at the back and if they can keep up this form, who knows what could happen.

As for Wolves, they regained their place at the top of the pile following a brief stint in second spot. Mick McCarthy’s men haven’t enjoyed the sort of form that made them seemingly unbeatable at the start of the season, yet he’ll still be very happy with the recent progress and be hoping to extend their lead this weekend. While Cardiff’s Ross McCormack is the top scorer of this league, McCarthy has two gems of his own up his sleeve. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Chris Iwelumo are third and fourth in the scoring charts respectively and with midfielder Michael Kightly not far away as well, there’s no doubt that Wolves have plenty of attacking options at their disposal. Following back to back wins against Watford and Swansea, the Wolves squad should be full of confidence and ready to extend their one point lead at the top of the table.

Dave Jones has plenty of good news regarding player availability heading into this one, with no less than four players shaking off minor injuries. Stephen McPhail, Joe Ledley, Darren Purse and Jay Bothroyd were all early doubts, yet should all start after making quick recoveries. However, Jones will still have to be without Mark Kennedy, Riccardo Scimeca and Tony Capaldi who are long term absentees. As for Wolves, Mick McCarthy doesn’t have any new concerns after Carl Ikeme recovered from a minor back problem. Matt Jarvis, Jody Craddock and George Elokobi will not feature though with the trio still nursing their longer injuries.

Both of these teams are performing superbly at the moment and due to that, we can only see a draw. The bookies rate Cardiff as slight favorites but with Wolves doing so well, we’ll predict a 1-1 result.

Related posts:

1. Wolves v Cardiff Preview
2. Reading v Wolves Preview
3. Wolves v Burnley Preview
4. Southampton v Cardiff Preview
5. Southampton v Wolves Preview

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