Brighton vs Cardiff City: Preview and Prediction
By admin
This match was originally due to take place over the festive period but was postponed due to bad weather. Neither club would have been that upset by that, given the volume of fixtures at that time and both teams come into this match in good form. Cardiff are a bit of a bogey team for the Seagulls but the way their season has been going, it’s very hard to back against Brighton at home, particularly against a bottom half side.
Brighton picked up a massive win on Friday night, when they beat fellow promotion hopefuls Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 on the South Coast. It was the perfect response to their first defeat in 19 Championship matches the weekend before that and they will return to top spot if they can bag maximum points from this game.
Looking at their home record, it’s very easy to make a strong case for them doing just that. They have the best home record in the division with an excellent 2.46 points per game collected on average at the Amex this term. They’ve netted 2.08 goals per home game on average so they clearly post a major attacking threat but have still managed to be very good at the other end too. Top scorer Glenn Murray is suspended here following his red card against Sheffield Wednesday on Friday, although Brighton have lodged an appeal so he could yet appear.
Even if he doesn’t, Brighton have other strong options up front and a real goal threat in midfield in the shape of Anthony Knockaert. He scored twice against the Owls and has scored 4 in 5 games now coming into this. He has also reached double figures for the season in the Championship and backing Knockaert to score anytime at 2/1 looks a good bet here.
Cardiff come into this game having won all 3 Championship games they’ve played this year so they will head to the South Coast believing in themselves. Those wins were all against sides in poor form right now though and this will clearly be a much tougher task. Away from home, they’ve looked very vulnerable at the back with 1.83 goals per game conceded on average and they haven’t kept an away clean sheet since the opening day of the season.
Both teams have scored in all of Cardiff’s last 6 away games though so you can’t rule out a Bluebirds goal. 9 of their last 11 away games have produced over 2.5 goals in total but with Brighton so dominant at home, you have to look upon a home win as by far the most likely outcome. They are quite short to win outright but given Cardiff’s tendency for high-scoring away games, backing Double chance 1 OR 2
HEAD TO HEAD
Cardiff are unbeaten in 5 games against Brighton. They also have a great record at the Amex, not losing on any of their last 6 visits, although 5 of those matches were drawn.
BRIGHTON VS CARDIFF STATS
There have been over 2.5 goals in 75% of Cardiff away games this season. Brighton have won 77% of their home games.
BRIGHTON TEAM NEWS
Striker Glenn Murray is suspended after his red card on Friday but Brighton have lodged an appeal in an attempt to clear him to play. Bruno may return at full-back after injury kept him out of that game, while striker Sam Baldock will also have his calf problem assessed.
CARDIFF TEAM NEWS
Anthony Pilkington will have a knock assessed. Otherwise Cardiff have no selection issues. Rhys Healey, who came off the bench to net the only goal at the weekend, will be hoping for a start.