Fri Apr 19, 2024 3:27 pm
Russell Martin: Bluebirds clash is 'dangerous'
Southampton boss Russell Martin believes Cardiff not having anything to play for makes them a "dangerous" proposition for his side.
The Bluebirds were comfortably beaten in the reverse fixture at St Mary's and come into this clash with 12 injuries and around 14 senior players available. Sign up to our Cardiff City newsletter here.
Couple that with Bulut's situation still up in the air and the club not fighting against relegation nor battling for promotion and punters will give Cardiff little chance this weekend.
However, Martin is taking no liberties. When asked whether Cardiff having nothing to play for gives Saints an advantage this weekend, ex-Swansea boss Martin said: "No, I think it's dangerous. I think that nothing to play for thing is just a bit of a throwaway comment in football.
"There are thousands of people there watching them. Some people will be out of contract, some people will be on loan, and some people will be given opportunities maybe at this stage of the season that haven't had many.
"So there's always something to play for, always, individually and collectively. I don't see that coming into it.
"And also teams play with real freedom sometimes when they maybe don't have much to play for in terms of promotion or relegation. We saw Watford come here last week to our place.
"They played brilliantly at Ipswich on Wednesday but didn't get the result and then you think, oh, well, there's nothing to play for.
"So it was a really tough game. It's a bit of a throwaway statement in football. Every game is tough in this division and this will be a tough one."