Bluebirds head to St Andrews without Morrison, their red-carded captain
CARDIFF City will be hoping the lack of captain Sean Morrison will not prevent them securing a win against Birmingham City on Saturday.
Morrison is banned from the game after receiving a red card against Sheffield United last weekend.
The loss of Morrison turned the tide of the match, with the Blades putting three goals past a 10-man Bluebirds in just 15 minutes, shattering what had been a 1-0 lead.
Manager, Steve Morison told Sky Sports: “The sending-off killed us but everything around that was really good, it was a positive performance.”
There were signs of a recovery later on in the match, with a Cardiff corner resulting in a 90th minute goal via a looping header by Mark McGuinness, but it was all too little too late.
A much-needed win should be within Cardiff’s reach if they can test the Blues aerially through set-pieces. These have been a weakness for the Birmingham team who conceded two goals from corners to Millwall last weekend.
The Blues are still feeling the blues from this 3-1 defeat, but they will be taking comfort in their five-point cushion over the Bluebirds. At 21st in the league Cardiff are currently scrambling to keep their head above the relegation zone.
At least Cardiff’s path up the table should be easier than the path down. Hull have a single point more than Cardiff and Reading are only ahead on goal difference. Peterborough in 22nd place, meanwhile are five points behind Cardiff.
Key Players
Cardiff
Joe Ralls
- In form after two assists at the weekend, Ralls will be pivotal the Bluebirds are to drag themselves away from relegation with a win. His corner taking helped Cardiff net a late goal despite being a player down.
Keiffer Moore
- Starting on the bench for Saturday’s match, Morison said that Moore had been unwell and he was not sure if he was going to be able to play. Nevertheless, Moore put on a strong showing when he was brought on and Bluebirds fans will be hoping to see the striker at the centre of the action against Birmingham if he has recovered.
Birmingham
Troy Deeney
- Deeney signed to the team he has supported since childhood in the summer and has scored three goals for the club, one being the Blues’ only goal in their defeat last weekend.
Injuries/Team News
Birmingham have been dealing with a Covid outbreak which saw some of head coach Lee Bowyer’s staff miss the match against Millwall. Though the coaches are expected to be back out of isolation this week, it remains to be seen whether the disruption will have a knock-on effect on the team’s performance.
Fan Prediction
Lifelong Bluebirds fan Ben Webbe, 58, said: “I think Cardiff will win 2-1. Hopefully they’ll defend properly for once.”
He added that he expected Kieffer Moore to score one.
“It will be a tight game but they’ll win. Well, hopefully because they need to stay up” he said.
