Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Championship clash between Cardiff City and Portsmouth, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Cardiff City and Portsmouth will both be targeting back-to-back victories when they face off in Tuesday’s clash at the Cardiff City Stadium.
The Bluebirds swept past 10-man Plymouth Argyle on Saturday, while Pompey claimed a narrow away win over Queens Park Rangers.
Match preview
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Cardiff interim Omer Riza has overseen an upturn in fortunes since taking over the reins following Emre Bulut‘s departure last month.
Riza may have lost 4-1 to Hull City in his first game in charge, but he has gone on to oversee a three-game unbeaten run, which started with a narrow 1-0 victory over Millwall.
The Bluebirds went on to play out a 1-1 away draw with Bristol City, before they produced a free-scoring display to sweep past Plymouth via a 5-0 scoreline.
Alex Robertson and Rubin Colwill grabbed a goal apiece to get Cardiff off to the perfect start, before Plymouth’s Ibrahim Cissoko was shown a straight red card in the closing stages.
Cardiff ultimately made the most of the numerical advantage, with Anwar El Ghazi, Callum Robinson and Chris Willock all finding the net in the second period to seal a second straight home win without conceding.
The Bluebirds, who remain in the relegation zone on goal difference, fell to a heavy 3-0 EFL Cup defeat in their most recent home meeting with Portsmouth in August, but they managed to win their last two home league games against the South Coast side.
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Cardiff’s dominant win over Plymouth in Saturday’s lunchtime kickoff meant Portsmouth entered their meeting with QPR as the Championship’s basement side.
As it proved, Pompey were only at the bottom of the league for a matter of hours as John Mousinho‘s side fought back from a goal down to claim their first win of the season.
Freddie Potts scored his first Pompey goal to cancel out Karamoko Dembele‘s ninth-minute opener, before Callum Lang scored a second-half penalty to seal all three points and send QPR to the bottom of the Championship table.
Despite claiming a much-needed win, Portsmouth still have the division’s worst defensive record with 21 goals conceded in 10 matches, with 14 of those goals coming away from Fratton Park.
While they are yet to keep an away clean sheet this term, Pompey continue to offer a goal threat on their travels, having scored nine times in five away league games, with only West Bromwich Albion netting more on the road this season.
After failing to win their last five league games against Cardiff, Portsmouth will travel to the Welsh capital with hopes of claiming their first head-to-head league win since recording a 2-1 victory in October 1984.
Cardiff City Championship form:
Portsmouth Championship form:
Team News
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Cardiff midfielder Aaron Ramsey is unlikely to feature before the November international break due to a hamstring problem.
Kion Etete and Isaak Davies are making progress in their respective recoveries, but the pair will not be ready to feature in the matchday squad.
After seeing his side sweep past Plymouth, Riza could be tempted to select an unchanged lineup for Tuesday’s contest.
Portsmouth are unable to call upon Will Norris, Conor Shaughnessy, Ibane Bowat, Jacob Farrell and Colby Bishop.
Paddy Lane could be considered for a starting spot after he came off the bench to play around half an hour at Loftus Road.
Lang will offer one of Pompey’s main goal threats, having scored four goals in seven Championship appearances this season.
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Alnwick; Ng, Chambers, Goutas, O’Dowda; Turnbull, Robertson; Tanner, Colwill, El Ghazi; Robinson
Portsmouth possible starting lineup:
Schmid; Williams, Poole, McIntyre, Ogilvie; Pack, Pott; Lang, Lane, Murphy; O’Mahony
We say: Cardiff City 2-1 Portsmouth
Both teams will be in high spirits after claiming maximum points at the weekend, but with Cardiff winning their last two home matches, we think the hosts will make full use of home advantage again to claim a narrow victory on Tuesday.
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