Cardiff vs Southampton: Preview and Prediction

Saturday 8th December 2018

England Premier League
Saturday 8th December 2018
Kick off at 3pm GMT
Venue: Cardiff City Stadium

Match Preview:

Here are two teams that need all three points and because of that this could be a real cracker of a game on Saturday afternoon.

Cardiff in 16^th place have actually improved since the beginning of the season but now they need to find some consistency to their game. Take last weekend when they beat Wolves but in midweek they lost to West Ham. Being back at home is a plus for Neil Warnock’s side and it is their home points which in the end will keep the club up.

They have won their last two home matches in a row and have 3 wins here from the last four games, so that is the good news for Cardiff. The bad news is that they can easily get sucked down into the bottom three and are only 2 points from being safe.

It’s been all change at Southampton with Mark Hughes sacked and in midweek their misery continued when they were defeated by Tottenham 3-1. But the Saints need to look on the bright side because in truth their loss to Tottenham was expected.

They have now brought in Ralph Hasenhuttl. The Austrian will be mostly unknown in England but he coached RB Leipzig for the past couple of years who performed very decently in the German Bundesliga and got a win rate of 48% with them.

The Saints have won 2 points from their last 15 and away from home they have lost 3 in a row with one win from 8 games.

Team News:

Cardiff: Greg Cunningham is expected back after his knock. Ashley Richards will be assessed ahead of this game to see if he has fully recovered from his hamstring injury.

Southampton: Ryan Bertrand may return after his back injury but is expected to once again miss another match. Danny Ings is another injury concern with his hamstring. Shane Long is still injured with his ankle problems Michael Obafemi is hoping to make a return after his hamstring injury.

Head to Head:

The teams have not met here since 2013 where Southampton ran out 3-0 winners.

Cardiff have won 5 out of the last 6 matches against Southampton when being at home.

There is a 60% chance to see over 2.5 goals.

Prediction:

This should be a match full of tension as both teams are down there and need the points. There might be more attacking play for the home side who have looked very confident at home in the past few weeks. The problem for Southampton is that new manager Hasenhuttl has not had any time with his players to properly get over his methods, and that is why we expect a home win at the weekend. Southampton are going to need a few weeks yet to get into the groove and try and save their season.

Recommended Betting Tips:

Asian handicap (0.0 Cardiff) at 2.07

Anytime goalscorer: Callum Peterson at 3.25