Cardiff City vs Fulham
27 July 1945hrs
Football – England – Championship
Pick Draw
Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 11/5 odds taken 2000 GMT, Sunday 26 July
These two teams were relegated from the Premier League last season but only one of Cardiff or Fulham can progress to the playoff final and a chance to return at the first time of asking.
Table of Contents
- 1 Cardiff City Preview – Are Bluebirds set to make it four straight wins for the first time in over two years?
- 2 Fulham Preview – Having narrowly missed out on automatic promotion, can Fulham find a first leg lead in the playoffs?
- 3 Cardiff City vs Fulham Betting Advice
- 4 The best betting odds for Cardiff City vs Fulham
Cardiff City Preview – Are Bluebirds set to make it four straight wins for the first time in over two years?
A push for the playoffs looked unlikely when Neil Warnock left earlier in the campaign. The appointment of Neil Harris seemed like a nod to next season but the former Millwall boss has done a really good job to get them not only into contention but finishing in the playoffs. Wednesday’s win over Hull meant a fifth place finish and an opportunity to return to the Premier League.
Harris – who himself hasn’t coached at that level – is also due to experience the Championship playoffs for the first time as a manager having narrowly missed out with his previous club two years ago.
Cardiff have been extremely hard to beat at home this season losing just three. Wins have been harder to come by of late, however, managing just four in their last 13 attempts at the Cardiff City Stadium. Seven of those games have ended in draws and they shared the points with Fulham earlier in the campaign.
Whilst this will be new for the manager, many of this Cardiff squad won promotion to the Premier League in season 2017/18 and they will hope to put that experience to good use over these next two games.
Fulham Preview – Having narrowly missed out on automatic promotion, can Fulham find a first leg lead in the playoffs?
It’s been a really strong end to the season for Fulham but they cannot afford to wonder what if in terms of their pursuit of automatic promotion. It looked beyond them when losing to Brentford and Leeds in consecutive matches but an unbeaten run of seven games – where they won five – seen them finish just two points behind West Brom. Scott Parker’s job will be to get his team to focus on what’s ahead.
Like Cardiff, it’s an opportunity for the Cottagers to return to the Premier League following relegation last season and many of these players will feel they let themselves down during that dismal campaign.
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Just as Cardiff are difficult to beat at home, Fulham have shown how just how resilient they are on their travels. The 3-0 loss to Leeds is the only loss in their last 12 away games. Seven of those games have been drawn and that will stand them in good stead as they look to get a result to take home with them ahead of the second leg.
One thing is for sure heading into this two-legged tie and that’s the importance of Aleksandar Mitrovic. The Serbian finished with 26 goals making him the top scorer in the Championship.
Cardiff City vs Fulham Betting Advice
It’s a really fascinating clash between two teams who are not used to losing. Fulham did get the better of Cardiff at Craven Cottage just a couple of weeks ago. However, nobody has lost fewer home games than the Welsh team in the regular Championship season.
Ironically, both these teams were promoted together two years ago. Cardiff went up automatically whilst Fulham were successful via the playoffs. How much will that play into matters here.
Key Facts – Cardiff City vs Fulham Betting Tip
- Despite winning their last two, it’s just four wins in 13 home games for Cardiff
- Fulham have lost just one of their last 12 away games in the league, drawing seven
- Scott Parker’s men were victorious at home to Cardiff two weeks ago with the other meeting ending in a draw
When you consider how dogged both of these teams are and how first legs are traditionally more cautious, this game could easily end in a draw. Fulham have drawn 10 of their 23 away games during the season whilst Cardiff had the second highest number of home draws.
I’m taking the teams to be level when they meet at Craven Cottage in the second leg.
