Cardiff vs Preston prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2024-02-09 15:00.
After an impressive 1-0 win at Watford provided the perfect response to back-to-back defeats, Cardiff City return to the Welsh capital looking to close the five-point gap between themselves and the automatic promotion places pre-round. Boss Erol Bulut will therefore be desperate for an improvement at home, as each of his side’s last three wins came on the road, while they have failed to secure victory in any of the last four games (D1, L3) on their own patch.
The visit of Preston North End could prove most timely then, as this is a fixture the Bluebirds won in dramatic fashion in November’s reverse fixture, scoring in the 96th and 99th minute to secure victory. That forms part of an imperious recent H2H record, losing just one of their last ten meetings (W6, D3) with North End.
What’s even more worrying for Preston is their dreadful record on this ground, as since the Cardiff City Stadium opened in the summer of 2009, they’ve won just once there (D4, L5). Ryan Lowe’s men may still take confidence across the border with them after an impressive victory over automatic-promotion chasing Ipswich moved the Lancashire outfit to within three points of the top-six themselves.
North End have proved troublesome travellers though, failing to win any of their last four Championship fixtures on the road (D1, L3). Just as in the reverse fixture, conceding late has been a constant problem for Preston, as only Blackburn have conceded more than their
15 between the 76th minute and full-time this term.
Players to watch: Perry Ng is enjoying one of the most productive campaigns of his career, but in three of the last four encounters that the Cardiff man has provided a goal or an assist, he has also been booked. Will Keane, meanwhile, has five goals in his last four appearances, but despite having previously scored twice against Saturday’s opponents, he has failed to come out on the winning side against them in five attempts (D3, L2).
Hot stat: Across Preston’s last three matches, five goals have been scored inside the first ten minutes.