Our prediction for this Championship match:
Swansea City and Cardiff City square off against each other at Swansea.com Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Swans quickly bounced back from a massive 4-0 loss to Burnley, with the team beating Reading 3-2 on Tuesday evening, and a triumph over Cardiff could see them climb to the playoffs berth. All Jamie Paterson, Joe Allen, and Liam Walsh are out of contention with injuries, while Ryan Manning is a major doubt.
The visitors, on the other hand, suffered a dip in form, with the team losing to both Coventry City and QPR in the last two league matches. Since the Welsh outfit have been struggling at the back of late, we predict that Swansea are going to pick up all three points from the match. Jack Simpson is banned for the match, while all Ebou Adams, Mahlon Romeo, Rubin Colwill, and Jamilu Collins remain in the recovery room.
Highlighted Player (Joe Allen):
Joe Allen is another high-quality footballer from the new generation of Wales internationals, who was part of the team that took Swansea from League One to the Premier League, and he had no problems adapting to arguably the strongest league championship in Europe.
Allen operated as a deep-lying playmaker as the Swans impressed upon reaching the elite division, with his excellent passing skills persuading Liverpool to splash £15 million on his services. The central midfielder didn’t exactly manage to develop into an indispensable member of the side at Anfield, but he is considered an important squad player and has always performed well when called upon.
Meanwhile, he has been one of the pillars of the most successful team in the Wales history together with Gareth Bale, Ashley Williams and Aaron Ramsey, while even representing Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Allen started five games for the Dragons as they secured the first ever appearance at the European Championship finals.
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.