Stoke v Cardiff
Tuesday December 8, 19:45
Sky Sports
Stoke move into the top-six
Stoke moved up to fifth in the Championship as a header from Nathan Collins proved enough to defeat Neil Warnock’s Middlesbrough 1-0 on Saturday at the Bet365 Stadium. The Potters made the better start and were rewarded when the Irish defender headed home Morgan Fox’s cross before the 20th minute of the match to secure top honours.
Michael O’Neill‘s outfit almost doubled their lead when Boro forward Chuba Akpom inexplicably headed towards his own goal, but visiting Marcus Bettinelli spared his blushes. Stoke reduced the away side to scraps – a shot against the post was the closest they came to levelling matters as they mustered a solitary shot on-target against a solid Potters unit.
Top goalscorer Tyrese Campbell missed an opening to make the win safe but O’Neill was pleased with his team’s display as they claimed back-to-back 1-0 wins and their third consecutive clean sheet. He said, “We had chances at the end to kill it off and looked a threat on the break. We defended well and it is a good three points.”
Sam Clucas, Danny Batth and Nick Powell all picked up knocks in the contest and are rated doubtful. Steven Fletcher, John Obi Mikel, Jordan Thompson and Joe Allen are confirmed absentees.
Cardiff impress at Vicarage Road
Kieffer Moore‘s fifth goal in five games ended Watford’s unbeaten home run as Cardiff collected a 1-0 victory at Vicarage Road on Saturday. The Welsh international’s smart first-half volley as the Hornets failed to clear a corner gave the Bluebirds a deserved lead as they made it three league victories in succession to move into the top-half of the table.
Neil Harris‘ troops had to stand firm after the interval as Watford responded in the second-half, dominating possession and territory. However, Cardiff refused to buckle with goalkeeper Alex Smithies making an excellent intervention to deny Domingos Quina when clean through on-goal, and the hosts spurning a few golden opportunities late on.
Speaking post-match, Harris said: “I thought Luton last week was a huge performance because of the scrutiny, Huddersfield was even bigger… but to come here and perform like we did in the first half and hold on, it’s a big result… probably one of my most enjoyable in charge. We have won three on the spin and found that clean sheet mentality and look like we have lots of ways to score a goal.”
Filip Benkovic has returned to training and could be involved for Cardiff, who have no new injury concerns coming into the contest.
Stoke have suffered a sole defeat in eight league meetings with Cardiff since 2005/06 (W3-D4-L1), including a maximum point return in three of their four head-to-heads here at the Bet365 Stadium (W3-D1-L0). The Staffordshire side triumphed 2-0 as hosts last February and welcome a Bluebirds team that’s not tasted victory as visitors in the Potteries for 15 years.
Stoke 2.6213/8 have found a slice of consistency in recent outings and have taken 19 points from their past 10 Championship encounters (W6-D1-L3). The hosts have returned W4-D2-L2 on home soil with their only defeats across the 2020/21 campaign arriving against fellow top-eight opponents. The Potters have kept their sheets clean in half of their 16 matches.
Pressure was mounting on Neil Harris and Cardiff 3.052/1 after an erratic opening stanza. Play-off semi-finalists a matter of months ago, the Bluebirds struggled to find their best form early on, although the capital club have enjoyed three successive wins ‘to nil’ with a more attacking attitude giving the group a bit more freedom and expression in possession.
The Championship continues to operate well below standard in terms of goals per-game – the second-tier has seen just 2.24 on average with only 38% of fixtures breaking the Over 2.5 Goals 2.265/4 barrier. Only 11 (34%) of Stoke and Cardiff’s combined contests have produced a minimum of three goals as the duo have kept a collective 15 clean sheets.
The Potters have tended to be more adventurous in their own backyard and Cardiff’s final-third tweaks could make a positive difference to the goal expectancy on Tuesday night, although the Bluebirds’ road results suggest we could be in for a tight tussle. With that in mind, plus the recent form shown from both sides, I’m happy to support the draw at 3.259/4.
Source: Betfair UK English Championship
