Cardiff v Leeds Betting Pick 1 – Saturday 21st April 2012

Championship Tips

Cardiff v Leeds

Cardiff need a win to secure their play-off place but Leeds will not be doing anyone favours and should prove stubborn opponents.

I analysed Cardiff’s recent form last week before their match against Barnsley and felt that they were not getting the results their performances deserved. A week on and they have won back to back games in the league for the first time since the turn of the year. The determination showed at Oakwell last Saturday was followed up with a comfortable home win against Derby in midweek. Couple those wins with Middlesbrough’s recent capitulation means that the Welsh side should make it into the play-off’s yet again. Malky MacKay will of course not be counting his chickens yet and will be telling his players that they need to keep the momentum going in the next to regular season games before, hopefully, they find themselves competing against three other sides for a place in the Premier League. It can often take a side, who aren’t used to playing in cup finals, time to get over a defeat as painful as their penalty shoot-out loss to Liverpool in the league cup final, but if they have finally got that out their system then the Bluebirds could prove the shrewd pick to earn promotion such is their style of play.

Leeds will want to forget this season as soon as possible. For a club their size they simply haven’t performed and have failed to build on a promising season last time around. Simon Grayson paid the price for that failure with his job but his replacement Neil Warnock has been unable to work his magic with this squad of players in the limited time he’s been at Elland Road. There’s expected to be a massive cull in the summer and players are certainly playing for their futures but one thing is for sure, the Leeds United team that take the field in August will scarcely resemble the current group of players. Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat away to Blackpool was their fourth reverse in five games. Their one win came last weekend at home to Peterborough despite going a goal behind. Warnock will be hoping to end the season on some sort of positive with a couple of good performances in the next two games but failing that, there is little other than pride to play for, for the men in white.

Cardiff don’t usually win with lot’s to spare in way of big margins but they do have a habit of grinding out results and that is key at this stage of the season. Liam Lawrence has freshened things up since his move from Portsmouth and his goal against Barnsley could prove pivotal.

Leeds will not be there to make up the numbers on Saturday and these games do have a history of being fiercely fought encounters, with little love lost between both sets of supporters. With it being an early kick off as well on Saturday, there is a little extra spice added.

Cardiff have a four point cushion over ‘Boro for the final play-off spot but as mentioned previously, they will want to keep their good run going and that means getting another win on Saturday to secure their position in the end of season fixtures. It’s a game I can see being tight but that normally suits the home side and I think they will pick up all three points.

My Selection: Cardiff to beat Leeds

Best odds available: 8/11 available with Totesport