A in-depth look at Town’s upcoming trip to Cardiff City in the Sky Bet Championship
- Cardiff City vs Huddersfield Town
- Wednesday 6 March 2024; 7.45pm
- A preview ahead of our trip to South Wales
André Breitenreiter will be looking to make it consecutive away wins as Town Head Coach when his side makes the trip to South Wales to play Cardiff City on Wednesday evening.
Enjoying a recent good run of form, Town will be looking to build on their current run - having secured a point with ten men against second place Leeds United.
Meanwhile, Erol Bulut's side will be hopeful of adding to their tally and make it three wins on the bounce - something they have not managed since September last year.
THE OPPOSITION
Currently sitting 11th in the table - nine points above the Terriers - Cardiff have struggled to build momentum throughout the duration of their current campaign. Losing 16 of their 35 Sky Bet Championship fixtures, the Welsh side have 14 wins and five draws to their name, with two of those victories coming in their last two games.
Following relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2018/19 season, Cardiff have only finished within the Play-Off places on one occasion since returning to the second division. Now less than ten points behind sixth place Hull City, a final promotion push is a feat they will be hoping to replicate in their current campaign.
THEIR MANAGER
Appointed in June 2023, Erol Bulut arrived in South Wales for his first position within English football, having initially spent the whole of his career coaching Turkish sides. Taking charge of Yeni Malatyaspor, Alanyaspor, Fenerbahçe and Gaziantep, Bulut parted ways with his former club to join the Bluebirds indefinitely.
A former left-back, the Turkish Coach began his career with Eintracht Frankfurt before playing for Fenerbahçe, Olympiacos, and nine other clubs across Europe between 1992 and 2012. Managing just 35 games with Cardiff City so far, Bulut has won 14, drawn five, and lost 16, with his side accumulating 47 points in total this campaign.
LAST TIME OUT
It was a 66th minute goal from defender Perry Ng which saw the Bluebirds claim all three points against Bristol City last Saturday - taking their overall win tally to 14 for the 2023/24 season.
Enjoying just 40% possession and having fewer shots on target than the opposition, Cardiff made the better of their chances in the final third - a single goal proving to be the difference between the two sides.
Previous Starting XI: Horvath; Wilson-Esbrand, Goutas, Phillips, Ng; Ralls, Siopis; Colwill, Turnbull, Bowler; Etete (4-2-3-1)
FORMATION
Rarely deviating from a 4-2-3-1 formation during their first 24 league fixtures, Cardiff have however chosen to experiment with 4 alternative structures in their last 11 games. Tweaking their structure initially to a 4-3-3, Bulut's side won just one of three fixtures in this shape, losing to promotion-chasing Leicester City and Leeds United.
More recently shifting to a 3-4-1-2 against West Bromwich Albion, which ended in a 2-0 defeat, before opting for a 4-4-2 away at Carrow Road - which also saw the Bluebirds walk away with nothing - Cardiff have returned to their favoured 4-2-3-1 shape, seeing them claim six points from their last two games.
WHO TO WATCH
Perry Ng
Starting his career at Crewe Alexandra - a side with which he spent seven year and made over 150 appearances - Ng had just one loan spell at Hyde United in 2015 before making the move to South Wales in 2021.
After being crowned Cardiff's Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year last season, the defender signed a new three-year deal in August to keep him with the Bluebirds until the summer of 2026.
Rubin Colwill
Coming through the Cardiff City academy, Colwill has spent the entirety of his professional career with the Bluebirds, making his debut for the Club in 2021 - and since going on to represent his country as part of both the Euro 2020 and 2022 FIFA World Cup squads.
Despite a slower start to the campaign, the 21-year-old midfielder has played a part in Cardiff's last 11 games, and will be looking to get his name on the scoresheet if he is named in Wednesday night's starting eleven.
Dimitrios Goutas
Moving to South Wales in July last year, the Greek centre-back has so far played all but 13 minutes of Cardiff's 2023/24 campaign and is expected to remain with the side until the summer of 2025.
Not only contributing defensively, Goutas has also scored four times this season - with the Bluebirds managing to secure a win on each occasion he has found the back of the net.
TOWN TEAM NEWS
Head Coach André Breitenreiter spoke to the press from the Millers Oils High Performance Complex on Monday 4 March ahead of our midweek Sky Bet Championship fixture.
Supporters can watch the full press conference back via HTTV on Youtube below, or by CLICKING HERE.
KIT
Making the trip to South Wales, the Terriers will be back out on the grass in acid lime - and you can enjoy 30% off your own replica kit from our Club Shop!
CLICK HERE to get yours online.
iFOLLOW HTAFC
Available to stream live on iFollow HTAFC via both match passes and audio match passes, Town supporters can CLICK HERE to watch along from home.
