Ipswich vs Cardiff prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-09-01 14:00.
It has been a busy but successful week already for Ipswich Town and Cardiff City, two Championship clubs who had to travel for weeknight EFL Cup victories. Ipswich could draw a physical advantage from hosting back-to-back Championship home fixtures on either side, even though they came away from last weekend’s outing with a 4-3 loss to Leeds United that deposed them from the top of the standings.
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was unwilling to criticise his players for the loss to Leeds despite conceding three goals in the opening 20 minutes, instead pointing out that the clubs were two divisions apart just months ago. It must at least be encouraging to see his team averaging two goals per game in the Championship, whilst adding another two in an EFL Cup win away to Reading on penalties (2-2 after 90 minutes) follows breaking the 100-goal barrier in League One last season.
Cardiff’s lengthy drive north east on Tuesday returned a surprise 3-1 EFL Cup win that ended Birmingham City’s four-game competitive winning streak, so they should not be perturbed by Ipswich’s similarly imperious form. After showing brief glimpses of strong football in their three-game winless run to start the Championship season, they found the elusive full 90-minute performance to snatch a win against newly promoted Sheffield Wednesday with a last-gasp penalty.
Their manager Erol Bulut claimed he was delighted with the players' fighting spirit throughout the entirety of the weekend, so imagine his elation when they advanced to the next round of the EFL Cup with goals in both the first and final five minutes of the game! There’s still one key area for the Bluebirds to address to become a Championship force, which is to end a stretch of 17 consecutive competitive games without a clean sheet.
Players to watch: With his second consecutive Championship scoring appearance, Ipswich’s Conor Chaplin is on the way to matching the 26 goals he amassed last League One season. Cardiff midfielder Ryan Wintle was rewarded for last weekend’s match-winning penalty against Wednesday with a placing in the midweek starting XI and he repaid the faith with their second goal against Birmingham.
Hot stat: Ipswich have conceded just one first-half goal across their last 18 league victories.