Cardiff vs Leeds United predictions and football betting tips for this weekend’s Championship fixture including the best odds and reasons for each Championship prediction.
Cardiff welcome Leeds to South Wales as both sides look to put poor starts behind them. We’ve got the best football betting tips for the lunchtime kick off.
Cardiff Preview, Team News and Form
It’s been far from the ideal start for Paul Trollope at Cardiff City. Dumped out of the EFL Cup by Bristol Rovers and sitting in the relegation places with just five points from seven matches. They’ve also only scored 6 goals which is a real area of concern for the boss. They were lively in the recent 3-2 defeat at Norwich and it gave the fans hope ahead of a Tuesday night fixture at struggling Preston, but the Bluebirds were poor and went down 3-0. Their third consecutive defeat.
This fixture has been termed ‘a must win’ for both sides, but for Cardiff and Trollope, they need to ensure it’s not another home defeat.
The 2-1 victory over Blackburn feels like a long time ago and the fans have had little to cheer since then.
Kenneth Zohore and Frederic Guongongbe have not met the required expectations and have struggled for goals. Zohore looked lively when coming off the bench at the end of last season, but hasn’t been able to recreate that this campaign. That leaves Ricky Lambert as the only recognised striker with the natural ability to put the ball in the back of the net. Anthony Pilkington has been scoring, but he isn’t a natural forward and can’t be used in that position full time.
It was good to see Trollope not making excuses for his side on Tuesday night, he apologised to the travelling fans and was scathing of his side’s performance.
Although they didn’t score regularly last season, they had a strong defence which helped them move up to the cusp of the play-offs. But, they can’t boast that this season with 12 goals shipped already.
There’s a lot of work to do ahead of this and it would be a surprise if Trollope hasn’t had his players in for extra training these last few days.
Leeds Preview, Team News and Form
It was a vital three points for Leeds in midweek as they overcame Blackburn 2-1. It was the ideal fixture for a side who needed the points as Rovers cannot defend and are rooted to the bottom of the table.
Constant speculation circulates about the future of manager Garry Monk which can’t be helpful for the squad or for the man himself.
He has two wins from his opening seven games and some of his players are still adapting to his methods and his systems.
It took a late Kyle Bartley goal to secure all three points after Blackburn had levelled and Monk can breathe a little easier ahead of this one.
It’s never easy travelling to the Cardiff City Stadium, but in their current form, Leeds will fancy their chances. They the likes of Chris Wood, Marcus Antonsson, Stuart Dallas and Hadi Sacko to provide spark and if fit, Liam Bridcutt shields the defence. The former Sunderland midfielder limped off in midweek, but could return here. Kemar Roofe is also back after missing the midweek game.
Pontus Jansson has given Leeds a little more steel at the back and Cardiff could find it difficult to navigate around the 6ft 5in defender.
Leeds occupy 18th place and are looking to move up the Championship table. This won’t be easy, but Monk seems to be forming a decent side and they could take advantage of the Bluebirds’ low confidence.
Cardiff vs Leeds Predictions
Cardiff were woefully poor in midweek and it’s going to take a huge improvement to take all three points here. They’ve won one and lost two of their first three games here, but the price about Leeds Draw No Bet is generous. The Elland Road outfit won at Hillsborough and they should have confidence from their midweek victory so for my first Cardiff vs Leeds betting tip I’m backing Leeds to avoid defeat using the draw no bet market. The best odds are 6/4 with Betfair.
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Over/Under 2.5 Goals Tips
Cardiff don’t score enough goals and Leeds should improve defensively over time. I can see one goal being enough in this match so for my next Cardiff vs Leeds tip I am going for under 2.5 goals at odds of 4/6.
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Anytime Goalscorer Tips
Chris Wood is capable of a lot more than he has shown recently. The big Kiwi has come under fire from sections of the Leeds fans this season, but he has scored a couple of crucial goals this season. His power could be the difference here and gets the nod for our anytime goalscorer prediction for this one.
Cardiff vs Leeds Betting Tips
Leeds Draw No Bet – 6/4 with Paddy Power: CLICK TO BET.
Under 2.5 goals – 4/6 with bet365: CLICK TO BET.
Chris Wood – 13/5 with Stan James: CLICK TO BET.
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Author information
Jack Critchley
Jack is the resident Football League predictions writer here at thatsagoal.com, his expertise of the lower leagues brings regular winning football tips.
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