by Ethan Harris
Date: Saturday January 20, 2018
Kick-off: 17:30
Venue: Hillsborough
CARDIFF City will look to keep the pressure on Derby County this weekend, as they search for three points against a Sheffield Wednesday side that have only lost once at home in their last eight games.
Fans will look forward to a possible debut for new loan signing Marko Grujic, who joined the club from Liverpool this Thursday, with the Serbian midfielder in to provide cover for Neil Warnock’s side, who have suffered an injury-ravaged season so far.
Aron Gunnarsson, Craig Bryson, Lee Peltier, Matthew Connolly and Danny Ward will not feature for the Bluebirds as they remain on the treatment table, with Warnock confirming that Ward will be out for the remainder of the season.
Joe Ralls and Lee Tomlin are doubtful for the trip to Sheffield, however Warnock will be pleased with winger Kadeem Harris returning from injury, as he looks to build upon consecutive victories against Sunderland and most recently Mansfield Town in the FA Cup.
The emphasis for Cardiff City will be with their resolute defence, as Warnock hopes his side keep their 12th clean sheet of the campaign, with the fourth best defence in the league shipping only 0.93 goals a game on average.
The Owls have a significant absentee list, as they line-up without Keiren Westwood, Tom Lees, Fernado Forestieri, Gary Hooper, Barry Bannan, Jack Hunt, Sam Hutchinson and Steven Fletcher.
Notable injuries make the encounter a tough task for Wednesday manager Jos Luhukay, who is still looking for his first league victory as Owls boss since taking over at the beginning of the year.
New Sheffield Wednesday signing Joel Pelupessy could also make his debut, with the now former Heracles Almelo captain putting pen to paper in time to face the Bluebirds after joining the club on Thursday.
Cardiff will be hoping their in-form man Callum Paterson can continue to find the goals for the Bluebirds, as the Scottish national has bagged three in his last four games to help stop their four game losing streak with victory against Sunderland.
Both teams will look to take victory, albeit for very different reasons. Cardiff City are pushing for an automatic promotion place, as they sit just two points behind second place Derby County.
Meanwhile Sheffield Wednesday are seven points clear of the drop zone in seventeenth-placed and could distance themselves further from the bottom of the table.
(Featured Image: Jon Candy)
Be the first to comment