Our prediction for this Championship match:
Cardiff City Stadium will host Saturday’s football game between Cardiff City and Middlesbrough, the two mid-table sides. The Bluebirds aim to build on a 2-1 win over Southampton, but seeing that they failed to make it to the playoffs, Erol Bulut is expected to shuffle his pack. All Giles, Conte, and Diedhiou are pushing for recalls to the starting eleven, while the likes of McGuinness, Alnwick, Etete, O’Dowda, Wilson-Esbrand, and Ramsey remain in the recovery room.
Meanwhile, the Boro aim to recover from a 4-3 loss to Leeds United. As the visitors will be with their guards down in Saturday’s clash as well, we are tempted to put our money on over 2.5 goals. Middlesbrough’s injury list remains long, including the likes of Tom Glover, Patrick McNair, Hayden Hackney, Riley McGree, Marcus Forss, Dael Fry, Josh Coburn, Tom Smith, and Darragh Lenihan.
Highlighted Player (Paddy McNair):
Following in the footsteps of his compatriot Jonny Evans, Paddy McNair joined the Manchester United academy in 2011 and he was surprisingly handed first team debut by Louis van Gaal at the start of the 2014/2015 season.
Despite his fragile age, the talented central defender has been putting in some very mature performances ever since, and everything suggests he could go on to become an important player at Old Trafford in years to come. After representing a number of youth sides, McNair made his first appearance for the Northern Ireland senior national team in a March 2015 friendly vs Scotland, before making another three outings as his side secured their place at the Euro 2016 finals.
Northern Ireland coach Michael O’Neill surprisingly played McNair in holding midfield in the March 2016 friendly vs Wales. After the youngster impressed in the middle of the park, O’Neill went on to suggest that the Manchester United starlet may be used in midfield rather than defence in years to come in the national team.
Highlighted Team (Cardiff):
Cardiff City are a Welsh football club that compete in the English second tier (Championship). In 2009 they moved from Ninian Park to Cardiff City Stadium, the venue that officially holds 33,280 spectators.
The Bluebirds played their first ever Premier League match on 18 August, 2013, but they were beaten by West Ham United (0-2) on their debut in the English top flight. However, a week later Fraizer Campbell (two goals) and Aron Gunnarson helped Cardiff City record their first ever win in the Premier League.
The Bluebirds outplayed Manchester City back then, but they eventually dropped to the Championship at the end of the season. Fellow Welsh outfit Swansea City are considered Cardiff’s fiercest rivals and the two teams take on each other in the South Wales derby.
The colour of Cardiff City’s home kit is blue, whilst they wear red shirts and shorts when playing on the travels.