MATCH THREAD: “ CARDIFF CITY v PRESTON MATCH THREA

CARDIFF CITY v PRESTON NORTH END
Saturday 10th February, 3pm
Sky Bet Championship
Cardiff City Stadium 



PAY ON THE DAY FOR BOTH SETS OF FANS:


Cardiff City: Alnwick; Ng, Phillips, Goutas, Collins; Siopis, Wintle; Bowler, Turnbull, Grant; Etete.

Subs: Horvath, Romeo, Ralls, Ramsey, Diedhiou, Meite, Colwill, Wilson-Esbrand, Tanner.


Erol Bulut:

“Joe Ralls seems ok and is back training after his knock, NG is fully ok now.”

“Phillips had a groin strain but is back training.”

“Ramsey is ready to play.”

“ Macca we have a small problem with him, but we will see if ok this morning.”

“Callum Robinson had a virus and is getting back.”


“O’Dowda had his first light training session this week, we hope to have him back playing in March.”

“We have a near full and fit squad.”


TEAM NEWS:


Robinson still not well.

O’Dowda not yet training with the team.



All New players will either Start or one or two on the bench


Nat Phillips will wear number 12

David Turnbull will wear number 15

Famara Diedhiou will wear number 20

Josh Wilson-Esbrand will wear number 30


TEAM NEWS:

Ramsey on the verge of starting now.

O’Dowda hopefully beginning of March


NG took a know v Watford and will be looked at on Monday


The Opposition's Manager

Ryan Lowe was appointed Preston manager in December 2021.

He was previously in charge of Plymouth Argyle and Bury, getting both clubs promoted from League Two.

As a player, he played for eight different EFL clubs.

Opposition Dangerous Players

Will Keane has eleven league goals this season, including two in their win over Ipswich on Saturday.

Milutin Osmajic scored one of his four league goals this season against us.

Head To Head 

We won 2-1 at Preston in November.

That was our only win in 90 minutes against them in the last five meetings. They have won one of those games, with three draws.

Team News - Predicted Line-Ups

Cardiff City: Alnwick, Ng, McGuinness, Goutas, Collins, Siopis, Wintle, Colwill, Bowler, Grant, Etete

Preston North End: Woodman, Potts, Storey, Lindsay, Hughes, Millar, Whiteman, Browne, Jensen, Riis, Keane

Last Game

We won at Watford on Saturday.

On the same day, Preston beat Ipswich at home.

Match Odds

Cardiff City - 23/20
Preston North End - 12/5
Draw - 23/10

Predictions

Post your predictions below 

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

TEAM NEWS:

Ramsey on the verge of starting now.

O’Dowda hopefully beginning of March


NG took a know v Watford and will be looked at on Monday

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

All New players will either Start or one or two on the bunch


Nat Phillips will wear number 12

David Turnbull will wear number 15

Famara Diedhiou will wear number 20

Josh Wilson-Esbrand will wear number 30

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

Lowe may finally have found his best starting XI

It may have only taken just 26 months but Ryan Lowe may have finally found the best starting eleven to go with when all players are fit. The starting line up against Ipswich Town on Saturday had never been picked previously, but most fans will have come away from it very happy with the overall team performance.

Preston look far more dangerous with two strikers up front and Keane and Riis have complimented each other very well in the few matches they have played together. They are both great at closing down defenders, Riis has great pace to get around the defence, and Keane is just a typical poacher.

Frokjaer is there behind them to provide the through balls and also close down the opposition as well. The Dane will always look to get forward and play attacking passes. You very rarely see him going backwards or sideways, something that has previously been very frustrating with this Preston team.
Browne was back in the side having been on the bench the last two matches, and on his 401st appearance, he was key in the first half, dictating the pace of the game which favoured North End.

The defence picks itself these days, as do the wing-backs, but Lowe should give the midfield and strikers a run together now, as it seems to be the best fit.

03/02/2024 Watford 0 Cardiff City 1 Crowd 19,734 Away Support 2,104

10/02/2024 15:00 Preston North End (h)
13/02/2024 20:00 West Bromwich Albion (a)
17/02/2024 15:00 Norwich City (a)
92/02/2024 19:45 Blackburn v Cardiff City
24/02/2024 15:00 Stoke City (h)



02/03/2024 15:00 Bristol City (a)
06/03/2024 19:45 Huddersfield Town (h)
09/03/2024 15:00 Ipswich Town (h)
16/03/2024 15:00 Swansea City (a)
29/03/2024 15:00 Sunderland (h)



01/04/2024 15:00 Coventry City (a)
06/04/2024 15:00 Hull City (h)
10/04/2024 19:45 Birmingham City (a)
13/04/2024 15:00 Millwall (a)
20/04/2024 15:00 Southampton (h)
27/04/2024 15:00 Middlesbrough (h)

04/05/2024 15:00 Rotherham United (a)

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

Callum Robinson is over his apparent illness and has been training on his own.

Will hopefully be with the rest of the team training this week?

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

Preston have recently struggled away from home, One Win in their last Seven Away games.

This is gonna be a hard game Saturday, even though they had some poor away results , we will do well to win this one .
Fans gotta be loud , we been so quiet this season . Come on bluebirds

Duane Holmes injury news as Preston North End man withdrawn late from squad versus Ipswich -
The PNE man dropped out of Saturday's squad against Ipswich Town

Preston North End midfielder Duane Holmes was withdrawn from the match day squad on Saturday with a knee issue.

The Lilywhites, minutes before kick off against Ipswich Town on Saturday, announced that first year pro Noah Mawene had replaced Holmes on the bench. Holmes, who signed from Huddersfield Town in the summer, has played 27 games in all competitions this campaign. He has four goals and five assists to his name.

Holmes had started one of PNE's last six games - the win over Bristol City, when he was replaced as part of a half time triple substitution. North End will wait to learn the extent of the number 25's injury, with the next match away to Cardiff City on Saturday.

Hope Rubin is not benched because Robinson is back in the fold waving his arms about like
kermit the frog.

Yeh totally agree , colwill must start ,
The game dropped after colwill went off Saturday

Preston have recorded seven points in their last six fixtures, leaving them 14th in the form table.


On their travels this season, Preston have recorded 16 points from 15 matches, a record that ranks 16th in the division, Winning one away game in their seven away games.

Strange team, Preston.
They can look top notch at times; then for no apparent reason, seem to go on a poor run.
Never sure what to expect from them, but Knowing our luck, they'll be back on top form on Saturday.

Ng was shown training on the club video yesterday so he must be ok.

Preston North End midfielder Duane Holmes will miss Saturday's trip to Cardiff City and most likely the Middlesbrough clash too.

During the warm-up last weekend, Holmes sustained a knee injury and had to withdraw from the match day squad against Ipswich Town. PNE boss Ryan Lowe explained it was a medial ligament issue and that Holmes would go for a scan. But, any fears over a long absence have been calmed.

"He will be about 7 to 10 days, Duano," said Lowe on Thursday morning. "So, not too bad but also disappointing that he is going to miss out - because he's important for us. We've just got to get him right. Ched (Evans) is on his way back, but we've just got to take our time with him. Layton (Stewart) is back training with the squad now, he is okay and came through a tight thigh. Kian Best is not far away and that's it really. They are all on the mend and on the way back."

EROL BULUT:



Aaron Ramsey itching to start?

He was expecting a few minutes (against Watford) - but the game was not the game for him. This weekend it can be different




Joe Ralls trained today with us without any problems. We have to check again tomorrow, but I think he will be OK.


Callum Robinson?

He started sessions on the field with the physios, he is running and doing well. But he is not yet with us.




Ethan Horvath available?

His visa is fixed so he will be available for us

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

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe would be brave to make many changes to his team for Saturday's clash at Cardiff City.

The Lilywhites saw off high flying Ipswich Town last time out - a game in which PNE led 3-0 at half time. North End have shown encouraging signs since the second half against Bristol City and Lowe could stick with an unchanged team in South Wales.

Kian Best, Duane Holmes and Ched Evans are all expected to miss the away trip. Holmes pulled out of last weekend's squad during the warm up, with a knee issue. Best and Evans remain on the sidelines with ankle and hamstring issues, respectively.

Comfortable 2-0 win(Grant McGuiness) Att 17,270

Erol Bulut:

“Joe Ralls seems ok and is back training after his knock, NG is fully ok now.”

“Phillips had a groin strain but is back training.”

“Ramsey is ready to play.”

“ Macca we have a small problem with him, but we will see if ok this morning.”

“Callum Robinson had a virus and is getting back.”


“O’Dowda had his first light training session this week, we hope to have him back playing in March.”

“We have a near full and fit squad.”

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

Latest Match Odds:

Cardiff City v Preston

Match Odds

Cardiff City - 4/3
Preston North End - 3/1
Draw - 23/10

Cardiff City XI: Alnwick; Ng, Phillips, Goutas, Collins; Siopis, Wintle; Bowler, Turnbull, Grant; Etete.

Subs: Horvath, Romeo, Ralls, Ramsey, Diedhiou, Meite, Colwill, Wilson-Esbrand, Tanner.






Preston North End XI: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Potts, Brown, Whiteman, Millar; Keane, Frokjaer-Jensen; Riis.

Subs: Cornell, Cunningham, Whatmough, Brady, McCann, Ledson, Woodburn, Osmajic, Stewart.

Cardiff City: Alnwick; Ng, Phillips, Goutas, Collins; Siopis, Wintle; Bowler, Turnbull, Grant; Etete.

Subs: Horvath, Romeo, Ralls, Ramsey, Diedhiou, Meite, Colwill, Wilson-Esbrand, Tanner.

Bluebirds

Two big early tackles from Nat Phillips. A solid start

Plenty of empty seats in the home ends

Bowler zips past his man on the wing, near the corner flag. He looks to have been brought down by Browne, but a goal kick is given.

Fantastic work from Siopis, who wins the ball back and earns a foul in what I like to call 'Perry Ng range'. Thirty yards out and fairly central.

Very poor as NG hits the wall

Save! Etete fashions some space about 20 yards out and connects well with one. It's low but straight at Woodman, who saves.

Early pressure from Cardiff