England Premier League
Sunday 31st March 2019
Kick off at 2:05pm GMT
Venue: Cardiff City Stadium
Match Preview:
Cardiff gave themselves a massive boost before the break when they beat West Ham, meaning the gap between them and 17th placed Burnley was just two points and they have given themselves hope of Premier League survival. However they will face a tough fixture on Sunday even if they are at home when they welcome Chelsea.
Neil Warnock has described Cardiff’s season as one of the most difficult of his career, which is not surprising given the off the field tragic event which has deepy affected the club.
Form is poor and the victory over West Ham stopped a 3 game losing streak, and at home they have earned 7 points from their last 15. But Cardiff need a string of games where they pick up all three points, which has been easier said than done.
What makes Cardiff’s task difficult is that Chelsea need the points too after they were beaten 2-0 by Everton in their last game. That defeat dented Chelsea’s top 4 chances but another loss could derail it. Chelsea could slip 4 points behind 4th and Manchester United so need to win this game.
Overall League form is average and the club have 1 win in their last 3, but away from home their recent form is desperately poor having lost 4 of their last 5 games.
Team News:
Cardiff: Harry Arter has a knock but could be assessed. Joe Bennett looks to have recovered from his hamstring. Matthew Connolly is out with a dislocated ankle. Callum Paterson has been ruled out for the rest of the season with his ankle injury. Ashley Richards won’t be back for another two weeks because of his hamstring injury
Chelsea: Ruben Loftus-Cheek has a knock but will be assessed. Davide Zappacosta could miss this game with a knock he picked up earlier this month
Cardiff vs Chelsea Head to Head:
Earlier in the season Chelsea hammered Cardiff 4-1.
In this decade the clubs have played 4 times and Chelsea have won every game.
3 of the last 4 meetings have ended with the correct score of 4-1 to Chelsea.
Cardiff vs Chelsea Prediction:
Chelsea have a better team than Cardiff and on paper this match should just be a straightforward win. However Maurizio Sarri’s side have been poor recently on the road - remember the 4-0 loss to Bournemouth? Having said that we will back Chelsea to win as they do have a great record over Cardiff which can’t be denied but it may well end up being much closer than previous matches. If Chelsea can control the pace of the game it’s hard to see Cardiff being able to cope and they could be chasing shadows as the game goes on.
Chelsea are being quoted as low as 1.44 which represents zero value given how poor they have been on the road lately. So we will take the slightly risky bet of them getting their heads out in front in the first half. Also we will back Olivier Giroud to get a goal. True the French striker rarely scores but he has netted some recently and has a bit more confidence about him, perhaps having Gonzalo Higuain in the team has helped him.
Cardiff vs Chelsea Betting Tips:
Half Time: Chelsea to be winning at 1.91
Anytime goalscorer: Olivier Giroud at 2.70
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