Football – England – Championship
Saturday 20th December 2014 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
Cardiff City suffered defeat last weekend in a high-scoring 5-3 loss at rampant AFC Bournemouth which was their first reverse in four matches in the Championship.
Cardiff had previously registered wins against Reading and Watford along with holding Birmingham City and Rotherham United to draws, and with home advantage again here today they may well fancy their chances of further adding to their points tally and climb above the mid-table mark.
The Bluebirds have won five of their last six at Cardiff City Stadium where they hold an overall record of 7-1-2 18/11 although against top half opposition they’ve beaten Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town and lost to Norwich City and Middlesbrough.
Former Southampton striker Kenwyne Jones (7 goals) looks to be the best bet for anytime goalscorer here for the hosts.
Brentford are enjoying a successful return to the English second tier as they currently sit in fifth spot just two points adrift of Championship league leaders Bournemouth. Only a 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield Town recently blotted their copy-book but with six wins from their last seven overall, The Bees will also be in confident mood as they make their way up to Wales this Saturday.
Wins against Derby County, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Blackburn Rovers (amongst others) have maintained Brentford’s claims for play-off contention, while their away record stands at 4-1-5 13/16.
On the road though, Brentford have returned some mixed results of late with defeats at Bolton Wanderers and Huddersfield Town, wins at Nottingham Forest and Millwall, and a draw at Wigan Athletic.
Highly-rated striker Andre Gray (8 goals) has been in good goalscoring form recently and he notched again last Saturday in Brentford’s 3-1 home win over Blackburn Rovers.
With both teams in pretty solid form overall, and each sporting a likely goalscorer up front (Jones for Cardiff and Gray for Brentford), this could well end up a draw, perhaps a 1-1 stalemate.
Pick: Draw @ 3.40 Bet Victor
