Cardiff vs Stoke prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2024-02-23 15:00.
A goalless draw at home against Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday halted Cardiff City’s three-game losing streak, but with only one victory to their name in their last eight encounters (D1, L6), things aren’t looking too rosy. The Welsh outfit have won points in consecutive matches just once since early November, a run which, if it persists, means that the current nine-point gap to the relegation zone after 33 Championship rounds is at risk of being whittled down in the coming weeks.
Not only are the Bluebirds winless at the Cardiff City Stadium since mid-December (D2, L4), but they have also failed to score in four straight outings on their own patch. Manager Erol Bulut hinted that the reason for his side’s struggles could be “the pressure of the fans”, as they have netted just 18 times in 16 home games this league campaign (W6, D3, L7) and ominously failed to score against upcoming opponents Stoke City in the reverse fixture (D 0-0) as well.
Stoke are in equally dire form, with five defeats in six matches (W1), the latest being a 1-0 loss to Coventry last Saturday that saw the team booed off the pitch at the bet365 Stadium. This sequence makes the unbeaten start that head coach Steven Schumacher enjoyed in his first five league games in charge (W2, D3) seem like a distant memory, as the Potters sit only three points above the bottom three ahead of this round.
Schumacher’s men won’t mind not playing at home this weekend under current circumstances, although they have lost their last two away matches. However, eight points (W2, D2) from four Championship trips prior to those defeats suggests that Stoke have a decent chance of achieving a positive result here to end their search for a first H2H league triumph on the road since August 2007 (D3, L2).
Players to watch: In addition to his defensive duties, Dimitrios Goutas has excelled going forward, as his four goals this season have all come in Cardiff wins. For Stoke, Lewis Baker’s last three league goals have come in stoppage time, on each occasion helping his side to victory.
Hot stat: Stoke have scored exactly once in six of their last seven away games.