Wolves v Cardiff Preview
People will look at the league table and point out that Wolves are twelve points ahead of Cardiff, which should pose no problem for them. However, looking at the standings more closely, Cardiff actually have four games in hand over the league leaders so should they win all of those, they’re level on points. With that, Wolves know that it’s vital to get a win here not only to halt the Bluebirds, but to also halt their miserable form which has seen them just win once in the last nine league games.
After starting the season on absolute fire and looking unbeatable at one stage, no-one can quite believe the form Wolves find themselves in at the moment. Of course, it would be almost impossible for a side to remain so consistent over the course of a whole season, yet one win in nine is a little extreme and has allowed 2nd place Birmingham to come within three points of them. They’ve lost their last two games against Coventry and Burnley and considering that both were mid-table sides at the time, it’s certainly not acceptable form for a side gunning for the top flight.
Cardiff on the other hand are miles behind Wolves, although that’s only in relation to the number of games played. The Bluebirds have played four games less than the league leaders and with Dave Jones’ men sat in 5th position at the moment, there’s no doubt that they’re in a very good position. Their last result was a disappointing 4-0 thumping to Arsenal, yet before then they looked solid after posting wins over Nottingham Forest and Coventry as well as a draw to Birmingham. With the club also signing Michael Chopra permanently during the January transfer window, Jones has assembled an extremely competent Championship outfit and there’s an outside chance that they could ruffle a few feathers and find themselves in the automatic positions.
Mick McCarthy can have no excuses coming into this game though if his side’s poor form continues. The Wolves boss has virtually a full squad to pick from after Kyel Reid and David Jones recovered from injuries during the week. Goalkeeper Carl Ikeme is the only absentee, although with Wayne Hennessey waiting in the wings, McCarthy has a more than able replacement. As for Cardiff, Dave Jones has something of a goalkeeper headache with both Tom Heaton and Peter Enckelman injured meaning that on loan Dimi Konstantopoulos looks set to start. Michael Chopra is another man set for a debut, although with it being his third spell with the club, you can hardly describe it as that now!
As for a prediction, we think Wolves will get their season back on track here. They have a full squad to pick from and after hearing some harsh words from Mick McCarthy, they will be more than up for this – 1-0 Wolves.
