Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Championship clash between Burnley and Cardiff City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Saturday afternoon will see Turf Moor welcome Championship football back to its grounds after a one-year absence, with Burnley taking on Cardiff City for second-tier points.
The Clarets were convincing winners at the home of Luton Town on Monday night, whilst the Bluebirds suffered disappointment during their opening match of the 2024-25 season last weekend.
Match preview
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Donning a four-figure jacket, Scott Parker commenced his stint as Burnley head coach in stylish fashion on Monday night, when the Clarets travelled to Kenilworth Road and recorded a comfortable 4-1 success over fellow relegated outfit Luton, who looked out of sorts on the evening.
A stalwart in the side over the past few years, Josh Brownhill opened his account for the term after just six minutes before further strikes from Wilson Odobert, Dara O’Shea and Vitinho sealed a handsome victory for the Lancashire club as they made an ideal start to their Championship return.
Flexing their embarrassment of riches in terms of first-team stars at the beginning of this campaign, Burnley were able to introduce former Manchester United and Netherlands striker Wout Weghorst to the action in the closing stages last time out, with the towering striker a fixture of the Bundesliga and Premier League in recent seasons.
Suffering relegation from La Liga as part of a struggling Cadiz side during the 2023-24 term, Lucas Pires has arrived at Turf Moor this summer hoping to experience the highs of promotion, with the Brazilian providing two excellent assists at Kenilworth Road on Monday night.
Coincidentally, Burnley’s most recent home fixture in the Championship was against Cardiff City on May 8, 2023, when strikes from midfield enforcer Brownhill, Ashley Barnes and Scott Twine secured a three-goal success over Sabri Lamouchi‘s relegation-battling Bluebirds.
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Cardiff will take to the road for the first time during the 2024-25 campaign following back-to-back home matches in the Championship and the EFL Cup over the past week, with the Welsh outfit enduring a mixed start to their competitive schedule in terms of performances and results.
The Bluebirds were well off the pace as North-East giants Sunderland came to the Cardiff City Stadium on the opening weekend of the second-tier term last Saturday, when goals either side of the half-time whistle from captain Luke O’Nien and Premier League-linked Jack Clarke sealed maximum points for the visitors.
A much-changed Cardiff side produced a much-improved display in order to advance to the second round of this season’s EFL Cup on Tuesday night, with second-half strikes from academy graduate Rubin Colwill and centre-back Mark McGuinness dumping League One Bristol Rovers out of the competition.
There were a number of notable full debutants for the Bluebirds in midweek, including Hertha Berlin loanee Wilfried Kanga, who will be looking to fire Erol Bulut‘s troops towards top-six contention following an impressive 12-goal term in the Belgian Pro League during 2023-24.
Before the hosting of Premier League newcomers Southampton in the second round of the EFL Cup on August 27, Cardiff face consecutive away trips in the Championship, with Turf Moor the destination this weekend ahead of the latest edition of the South Wales derby against Swansea City.
Burnley Championship form:
Cardiff City Championship form:
Cardiff City form (all competitions):
Team News
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Amid links to Manchester United, Sander Berge did not feature for Burnley at Luton on Monday, although head coach Parker has insisted that it is a slight niggle that is keeping the Norwegian out of action.
Supporters were sweating over the fitness of winger Luca Koleosho as he was forced off early at Kenilworth Road, however it is understood that the issue is not as bad as first feared.
Last featuring for the Clarets against Arsenal in February, Aaron Ramsey continues to fight back from a cruciate ligament injury and is targeting a return before the conclusion of the calendar year.
Cardiff suffered a major injury blow during the warm-up before their cup victory over Bristol Rovers on Tuesday, with midfielder David Turnbull potentially facing a month on the sidelines due to a groin injury.
The Bluebirds will make a late decision on the availability of Callum Robinson following a knock to his Achilles last weekend, whilst summer arrival Anwar El Ghazi is still a few weeks away from contention.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Roberts, O’Shea, Esteve, Pires; Brownhill, Cullen, Vitinho, Odobert, Koleosho; Foster
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Horvath; Ng, Chambers, Goutas, O’Dowda; Siopis, Ralls, Meite, Ramsey, Willock; Kanga
We say: Burnley 2-0 Cardiff City
Burnley made Turf Moor a fortress during their title-winning campaign of 2022-23, and we are expecting a similar story for the Clarets this time around.
Cardiff have been unconvincing to date this season, so we cannot envisage them collecting any points during a trip to one of the favourites for automatic promotion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.