Bristol City vs Cardiff prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2022-08-20 11:00.
Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson threatened to “pack up being involved” in football because of the standard of refereeing earlier this week – but a mouthwatering clash against bitter rivals Cardiff should at least keep him going for the next few days. The Severnside Derby is always an occasion to savour, and it certainly delivered at Ashton Gate in January when Bristol City picked up a 3-2 victory, their fourth win in the last six meetings between the two sides (L2).
The Robins will be without midfielder Mark Sykes who got sent off against Luton on Tuesday, but that didn’t stop them picking up their first clean sheet of the season during a 2-0 win. They had seen both teams score in their previous four outings but will need plenty more shut-outs if they are to secure just their fourth top-half finish in the Championship since 2010.
Bristol City fans will likely give former player Callum O’Dowda a less than welcome reception at Ashton Gate after he crossed the border into Wales to join Cardiff this summer. He has the dubious accolade of scoring the Bluebirds’ last league goal, which came nearly six hours of football ago against Reading! That’s a worrying point enhanced by the fact Cardiff failed to register a single shot on target in Tuesday’s goalless stalemate at West Brom.
Manager Steve Morison knows his side, who scored just just 50 times in the Championship during 2021/22, must be sharper in attack if they are to achieve his aim of a first play-off finish for three years. They also need to improve on an away record of just four wins from their last 15 league fixtures (D3, L8), with three of those victories coming against teams who finished below them in the table last season.
Players to watch: Bristol City striker Andreas Weimann, who has scored four times in five games, has lost just once in nine appearances against Cardiff (W7, D1), scoring four goals in the process. Meanwhile, one of Cardiff’s Romaine Sawyers’ only two career red cards came against Bristol City in 2020 – he has lost more times against them (seven) than any other club (W5, D3)
Hot stat: Bristol boss Pearson has had his equal most managerial defeats against Cardiff (eight).