Games against relegation rivals Plymouth and Hull give Cardiff City a chance to move clear of danger or…
FEBRUARY was always going to be crucial for Cardiff in their fight to beat the Championship drop.
Games against direct relegation rivals presented both an opportunity to move clear of danger, and the risk of being pulled back into a dogfight that looks set to go the distance.
Two of these matches await Omer Riza’s side in the next four days. A trip to second-from-bottom Plymouth Argyle on Saturday is followed by the visit of fourth-from-bottom Hull City on Tuesday evening.
Cardiff – fifth from bottom – have already lost to one side this month in a similar predicament. A 2-1 defeat by Portsmouth at Fratton Park last week was damaging and halted the momentum that had been built since the turn of the year.
The Bluebirds now perch precariously above the drop zone on 32 points, two points above Hull and three points above Plymouth, though they have a game in hand over the Pilgrims.
With fixtures against promotion-chasing Burnley, Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers to come at the start of March, the next two outings have become ‘must win’.
‘Risk versus reward’
The last few weeks have proved once again that the Championship challenge changes under your feet.
Two months ago, travelling to Home Park to face Plymouth would have been seen as a real chance to claim three valuable points against a fellow struggler, with then-manager Wayne Rooney unable to turn around their torrid form.
But since the arrival of new manager Miron Muslic midway through January, Argyle have turned a corner at home.
Three successive home victories, including the huge FA Cup win over Premier League leaders Liverpool, have now given them a realistic chance of survival – something that did not look possible before the new year.
A fourth home victory on the bounce would see Plymouth go level on points with Cardiff.
“It’s massive,” said Riza.
“Same with the Hull game. We know how big they are, but at the same time, nothing is certain in football.
“I don’t want to put ourselves in a position where we feel that if we fail, there’s no comeback, because that’s not the case, but we know that they’re really important and how we’ve got to approach them.”
The 45-year-old insisted that by sticking to their way of playing, his side could have too much for Plymouth.
“We have to win our battles, but we’ve got quality, we need to get the ball down and we need to play,” he said.
“That’ll be what we’re looking to do against them on Saturday.”
Buoyed by a late Yousef Salech equaliser against Severnside rivals Bristol City last weekend, Cardiff will be looking to take the game to both Plymouth and Hull, knowing the reward could be priceless.
“If we win on Saturday against Plymouth, it takes us those points above them and they’re really having to win two or three games to go above us,” Riza said.
Breathing space is vital at this stage of the season and six points from these two matches could take Cardiff as high as seventeenth in the table. With Hull away to high-flying Sunderland tomorrow, the odds are against the Tigers overtaking Cardiff this weekend.
Isaak’s back
The squad has been boosted by the return of Isaak Davies, who is in contention to feature for the first time this season due to a hamstring injury.
Davies’ return is timely following the news that top scorer Callum Robinson has picked up a knock and is a doubt for the trip to Plymouth. Club captain Joe Ralls is also expected to be fit again.
City are still likely without Callum Chambers, Jesper Daaland, Alex Robertson, Ollie Tanner, David Turnbull and Yakou Meite.
