Cardiff City

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Cardiff City interim manager Omer Riza says the example of Pep Guardiola is proof that even the best in the world can suffer a dip in form.

Riza's Cardiff have dropped to one point and one place above the Championship relegation zone after a four-game winless run.

Guardiola, meanwhile, is in the midst of one of his toughest periods of his long reign at Manchester City, with the Premier League champions without a victory in six matches.

Guardiola's side looked like ending their winless sequence against Feyenoord in the Champions League game on Tuesday, but surrendered a three-goal lead in the final 15 minutes to draw 3-3.

"Look at Pep Guardiola, the guy was scratching his head to pieces the other day because he is stressed out," said Riza.

"His team had lost five games on the spin [before Tuesday], but his players are all worth £100m - he's not down here in the trenches.

"That's no disrespect to Guardiola, he's a master of the game, but it can happen to the best of us. So we have to move forward."

Cardiff next's chance of victory comes on Saturday against Coventry City, who appointed Frank Lampard as their new head coach on Thursday.

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Jason Perry says Cardiff City cannot keep putting off a decision on their managerial situation amid "worrying times" for his former club.

Cardiff are just a point clear of the Championship relegation places after they were beaten at home by fellow strugglers Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday.

Interim boss Omer Riza likened the club to "a pressure cooker ready to explode" after defeat by a Rangers side who had won only one game all season before their trip to Wales.

Riza has been in charge since Cardiff sacked Erol Bulut in September – but said after the QPR loss that he did not know whether he would still be at the helm for Saturday's trip to Coventry City.

Former Bluebirds skipper Perry says that while Riza and his squad must face scrutiny, the key issue at Cardiff is in the boardroom.

"There's a reason why Cardiff are in this position... the biggest problem is above the manager," Perry told BBC Radio Wales.

"If that's not resolved, it will always be a boom-and-bust club.

"We have seen that [before], but the bust could be bigger this year than we have seen for a quite a while."

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Perry felt Cardiff failed to cope with QPR's "basic way of playing" after Marti Cifuentes' side triumphed thanks to two Zan Celar goals.

"It's a 4-5-1 and Cardiff have not realised what they need to do to get around them," he added.

"QPR have stuck to a basic plan that was too good for Cardiff. I am looking at the body language of the staff and they look defeated.

"If you are going to wait until January for somebody [to be appointed manager], there are a lot of points to be won between now and January. You can’t wait."

Perry, who spent a decade as a Cardiff player, says the current side have "regressed" after an upturn in form following Bulut's exit.

"Everybody said it was a good squad. It isn’t," he added.

"We have seen it played out in front of us again - they miss certain players in certain areas.

"You look at the bench. Individually they have their strengths and they would get into other sides, but it's hard to get a tune out of this group and they are losing games. These are worrying times."

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Frank Lampard's first test as Coventry City boss will be a home match against Cardiff City on Saturday.

The former England midfielder has been appointed head coach of the Sky Blues on a two-and-a-half year deal.

Coventry and Cardiff are both winless in four games, and Lampard's side will begin the day one point better off than the Bluebirds in the bottom half of the Championship.

Speaking after Wednesday's home defeat against Queens Park Rangers and before Lampard's appointment, Cardiff interim boss Omer Riza said he had been preparing to face the former Chelsea star.

"Coventry are an attacking side, they like to go forward," Riza said.

"Whether they play a back three or back four remains to be seen because of who may be coming in.

"If Lampard is in charge he may go to a back four because has never played with a back three.

"There has to be an element of cautiousness away from home which is something I'm looking at, but without taking away our attacking threat."

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QPR ended a wait of almost three months for a win at Cardiff as summer signing Zan Celar scored his first goals for the club.

The Slovenia international has struggled to adapt to English football since moving from Swiss side Lugano and missed a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Stoke at Loftus Road on Saturday.

But last night the 25-year-old was clinical in front of goal to open his account with a swivel and shot into the top corner to finally break his duck.

And with the confidence of the first goal, he calmly dinked the ball over onrushing Bluebirds keeper Jak Alnwick when through on goal to seal the points in a 2-0 victory at Cardiff City Stadium.

Goalkeeper Paul Nardi made several big saves to preserve the clean sheet and he said it was important for the team to build on the performance at Watford this weekend.

"We have a very tough week," he told BBC Radio London.

"We don't have the little luck sometimes, not just about luck but this night we feel good vibes, good things, the team fought for every ball.

"I'm very happy for Zan Celar, he's a big fighter. It was very difficult last week for him to miss the penalty but we can see the confidence of the group, of the teammates, when he scored.

"We are a very close group and the second one - what a finish from Zan!"

The three points moves QPR off the foot of the table above Portsmouth, whose match against Millwall last night was postponed due to a power failure at Fratton Park.

And head coach Marti Cifuentes was pleased for Celar to get off the mark, having defended him after his penalty miss against Stoke.

"It was an important win for us as a team, especially for the players as they have been working hard in a difficult period," he said.

"The fact it was Zan Celar, the whole group have been very supportive and protective of him. It was very important, it's a goal all of us have scored.

"He's a good guy, been working hard, and unfortunately until today he had not got the reward of the goals. Hopefully it will increase his confidence and be the first two of many."

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Cardiff City interim manager Omer Riza says he "needs to see more" from striker Wilfried Kanga.

The 26-year-old was left out of the Cardiff squad for the first time in the Championship on Wednesday evening, as youngster Michael Reindorf was given a spot on the bench.

Kanga, a summer loan signing from Hertha Berlin, has failed to score for the Bluebirds in 13 appearances so far this season.

"I need to see more," said Riza.

"He has failed to score and create and it has been tough for him, but at the same time when you come on you have to make an impact.

"I know it is difficult, but there has to be hard work and endeavour.

"I'm sure he will come back with the same positive attitude and character he has to get back in the squad."

Cardiff were beaten 2-0 at home by Queen's Park Rangers on Wednesday night, as they dropped even closer to the Championship's bottom three.

QPR striker Zan Celar - who had also not scored all season - fired in a wonder strike in the first half, before a deft chip after 91 minutes sealed the game.

"Wilfried started the first five or six games, and I think there is an element that players are frustrated to have not played in the system we play now," added Riza.

"There have been conversations about trying improve. Today was purely about giving someone else [Reindorf] an opportunity."

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Former Wales striker Malcolm Allen believes Cardiff City should consider appointing Steve Cooper as their new manager.

The former Swansea boss has just been sacked by Premier League side Leicester City after less than five months in charge.

The Bluebirds currently have Omar Riza in interim charge following Erol Bulut's dismissal two months ago, but Riza's future remains unclear.

"He's got a point to prove," Allen told the Coridor Ansicrwydd podcast when asked about Cooper.

"He comes from the area, his family all live in the area.

"He needs to find a club where he's got more power than what he had at Leicester, and I think Cardiff would be perfect for him.

"The only problem he has is that Leicester City will continue paying him until he finds another club."

Cooper was in charge of Swansea City for two years between 2019 and 2021 where he led them to the Championship play-offs twice.

And former Wales midfielder Owain Tudur Jones believes his time in charge of Swansea would make it difficult for him to take over at Cardiff.

"I can't see Cooper going to Cardiff," said Jones.

"After being manager of Swansea would you go to Cardiff? I don't think so."

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Omer Riza's record as Cardiff City's interim boss remains impressive, but more of the same is required if the Bluebirds are to pull clear of the Championship relegation scrap.

Riza has secured 15 points from his 10 games since Erol Bulut was sacked in September.

Nevertheless, Cardiff have lost momentum heading into what may prove to be a key run of fixtures, starting with Wednesday night's home game against Queens Park Rangers.

Riza won four and drew two of his first seven matches at the helm, which represented a spectacular upturn in fortunes after Cardiff banked just one point from the first 18 available this season under Bulut.

Since that impressive sequence, however, Riza's side have taken only a point from three games, with defeats against Luton Town and Blackburn Rovers before last weekend's draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

Bottom-club QPR head to Wales having registered just one win all season, at Luton all the way back on 30 August.

Since then there have been six draws and six defeats for Marti Cifuentes' team, who have not managed so much as a goal in their last four away games – the club's longest such sequence in 16 years.

After Rangers' visit, Cardiff go to Coventry City before two more home fixtures, against Watford and Preston, then a trip to Stoke City in mid-December.

There are opportunities ahead, therefore, for Cardiff to haul themselves towards mid-table – and for Riza to stake a renewed claim for a permanent contract.

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QPR will have to at least match the level of their performance against Stoke at the weekend to claim a result in Cardiff on Wednesday, says boss Marti Cifuentes.

The R's had 23 shots to Stoke's nine in the 1-1 draw at Loftus Road, with Zan Celar missing a penalty for the home side.

The Bluebirds had just one point at the end of September but went on a six-game unbeaten run and are currently one point above the relegation places, though they are without a win in their last three.

The Hoops are bottom of the table with just one victory from their first 16 league games.

"It's a talented team, I was a bit surprised how they started the season," Cifuentes told BBC Radio London.

"But that shows how tough and how ruthless is this league. They've got a group with many experienced players in this division, with some other additions who are talented players.

"I'm sure they have the level to improve in this table and it's true that with a change of manager, they got a good reaction and they're a difficult team. The way they play attacking-wise they've got talent and quality players.

"They're a team that's competing really well at the moment and we need to be ready to at least play the same level as we did against Stoke to get something from the game."

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Queens Park Rangers were sorry to see Chris Willock depart when, with his contract up, the winger signed for Cardiff City in the summer.

Willock looks set to face his former employers for the first time when QPR travel to the Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday night.

Assuming he features, Willock may hope a Rangers reunion can spark an upturn in form.

The ex-Arsenal youngster scored 20 goals in 144 appearances across four seasons at Loftus Road, with the seven strikes he managed in 2021-22 his best return in one campaign.

Yet Willock has scored only once to date in a Cardiff shirt, in the 5-0 victory over Plymouth in October.

He has played 14 times for the Bluebirds - though there have only been six league starts to date - but was left on the bench in last weekend's draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

In July, shortly before Willock signed a three-year deal at Cardiff, QPR chief executive Christian Nourry issued a statement saying that after "several months" of contract talks, the former Benfica player had decided to move on.

Nourry added that it was "no secret" that Rangers "would have liked to have found a way to continue the adventure" with Willock.

Five months on, Rangers are bottom of the Championship while Cardiff, who are only five points better off, are hoping Willock will have a greater impact as the season unfolds.

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Bottom side QPR travel to fellow strugglers Cardiff City on Wednesday night in search of a first win since 30 August, when they beat Luton 2-1 at Kenilworth Road.

That is still the only victory of the season so far for the Hoops who are without a win in the 12 league games they've played since (D6 L6).

Marti Cifuentes' side drew 1-1 at home to Stoke on Saturday, while the Bluebirds also drew 1-1, at Sheffield Wednesday, and are 21st in the Championship.

• Cardiff City are looking for consecutive league wins over QPR for the first time since January 2008.

• Queens Park Rangers have won three of their past four away league visits to Cardiff, winning 2-1 last season.

• Cardiff have won four of their five home league games under Omer Riza (L1), though they did lose their most recent such game against Blackburn 3-1.

• QPR have failed to score in their past four away league games (D1 L3); they last endured a longer such run in December 2008 in the Championship (eight games).

• Cardiff's Callum Robinson has been involved in four goals in his past four home Championship games against QPR (one goal, three assists).

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Saturday's hard-fought 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday was enough to lift Cardiff City out of the Championship’s relegation zone.

On Wednesday the Bluebirds have a golden opportunity to put further daylight between themselves and the bottom three.

Queens Park Rangers arrive in the Welsh capital propping up the table with just one win all season – although they do have a habit of drawing.

QPR hold a joint league record with Luton Town for the most draws this season at eight.

But Cardiff boss Omer Riza said: "We're just looking at ourselves, it's so early in the season still and there are so many points to play for.

“Obviously the teams that are in and around you, it’s important that you get those points, which we did against Plymouth and Portsmouth."

"If we had won [on Saturday] we would have been on level points with Sheffield Wednesday, it wasn’t to be, but we go into Wednesday now with a not bad performance, a resilient performance, and hopefully go and try and get three points."

Asked if Cardiff were looking down the table or up the table, Riza replied: "We're in a position now where if we win games we move up pretty quickly and that's what we're looking at.

"Obviously if you lose games you stay where you are, so hopefully we get through to January in a stable position and then we can kick on from there."

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Cardiff City interim manager Omer Riza expects to remain in charge for Wednesday’s home Championship fixture against Queens Park Rangers.

Riza’s long-term future remains uncertain despite meeting Cardiff owner Vincent Tan in Malaysia last week, having overseen a significant improvement during his two months at the helm.

Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday took Riza’s points tally to 15 from 10 games following Erol Bulut’s sacking.

That is in stark contrast to Cardiff’s opening six matches under Bulut which yielded just one point, the worst start to a season in the Bluebirds’ history.

Asked if he expects to be in the dugout against QPR, Riza said: "I don’t think anything will change that quickly. That’s down to the board now to comment on that. We’re preparing like we need to."

Wednesday dominated Saturday’s encounter at Hillsborough, so Riza was pleased his side could hold on for a point having lost their previous two matches before this month’s international break.

"It’s really important whatever points you can pick up away from home, whether it’s one point or three points, it’s always good for you," he told BBC Radio Wales.

"Coming off the back of two defeats, it was important we showed resilience. Hillsborough is a tough place to come and they’re a good side.

"They attack well, they’re fluent in their attacking if you allow them the ball and we did that too much today with our own possession. We turned the ball over and weren’t clinical enough in our passing as we have been.

"It’s a shame to concede a goal so soon after [taking the lead] but we’ve come away with a point, and we can build on that moving on to Wednesday."

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Joe Ralls believes his former Cardiff City captain Sean Morrison has a bright future as a coach – but does not think his playing days are over just yet.

Morrison, 33, enjoyed a successful nine-year spell at Cardiff between 2014 and 2023, helping the Bluebirds win promotion to the Premier League in 2018.

The centre-back has been without a club since leaving Rotherham United at the end of last season.

Although he has not yet retired, Morrison has been coaching with Cardiff’s youth teams in an unofficial capacity.

"I think he’d be a great coach," said Ralls. "I think he could still play as well. I know he’s still keeping his options open and working hard, training individually to keep himself fit.

"I speak to him every day, he’s a great mate of mine. He’ll be great at whatever he puts his mind to. He’s done a bit of [television punditry] work with Sky too."

On Morrison’s work with Cardiff’s youth teams, Ralls added: "From our point of view if we had Sean Morrison with the youngsters, helping them in terms of what’s expected of them at the club, what’s needed to make a career in the game, there would be nobody better.

"He’s been there and done it at this level. He’s been a great player and captain for this club so the fact he’s around the city and if he can be around the young players and help out in that way, then great.

"He’s keeping his options open and there’s still the possibility he could play. Whatever he does, he’ll do well."

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Cardiff City midfielder Aaron Ramsey has suffered a setback in his bid to return from a hamstring injury.

The Wales captain, 33, has not played since sustaining the injury during his country’s Nations League win in Montenegro in September.

Having originally been scheduled to be back playing after two months, Ramsey had returned to training with Cardiff before the new problem occurred.

"Aaron has picked up a slight problem as well with the injury so it might be a bit further down the line," said the Bluebirds’ interim manager Omer Riza.

"We’re waiting for the medical team to clarify that. We have to be guided on that."

Striker Kion Etete, who has not played at all this season due to a hamstring injury, has also seen his return date pushed back.

"Kion had a little setback in the Brentford game [friendly during this month’s international break] so he’s been put back a couple of weeks. That was more cautionary," said Riza.

But there is better news for forward Callum Robinson and midfielder Joe Ralls, both of whom are fit again and in contention for Saturday’s Championship trip to Sheffield Wednesday.

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A couple of Cardiff City's international players have returned to Wales having had similar experiences during the final break of 2024.

Manolis Siopis, of Greece, and the Republic of Ireland's Callum O'Dowda return to club duty having each been part of heavy defeats to England.

Midfielder Siopis played 82 mins of Greece's 3-0 home loss to England last Thursday.

That result meant England were in pole position going into the final round of matches in Group B2, and they pressed home their advantage in a 5-0 mauling of O'Dowda's Irish side at Wembley last Sunday.

O'Dowda played the first 67 minutes against England, having played the full 90 in the Republic's 1-0 win over Finland last Thursday.

Siopis, meanwhile, came on for the final 15 minutes of Greece's 2-0 win over the Finns on Sunday.

There was only one other Bluebird on international duty during this break, Wales' Rubin Colwill.

The attacking midfielder is enjoying a positive season at club level, but he was left on the bench throughout the draw in Turkey and home victory over Iceland.

Luca Muzzupappa
BBC Sport Wales

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Cardiff City return to Championship action at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday hoping to claim a first away win since early April.

The Bluebirds are back in the relegation places after their revival under interim boss Omer Riza was halted by back-to-back defeats prior to the international break.

With pressure on once more, this weekend would be the ideal time for Cardiff to improve their underwhelming away record.

Just three of the 15 points Cardiff have banked in 2024-25 have come away from home.

They are one of only six clubs in the three English Football League (EFL) divisions who are yet to win on the road in the league this season, with only Oxford United and Plymouth Argyle (two each) claiming fewer away points than the Welsh side.

Cardiff are without a victory in seven league games on their travels this season, but the winless run stands at nine including the tail end of last season.

The last time Cardiff waited this long for an away success at the start of a campaign was in 2019-20, when they triumphed at the 10th time of asking at Nottingham Forest in late November.

Despite the slow start outside Wales, they finished that season in the Championship play-offs.

Sheffield Wednesday will look to make it successive home wins on Saturday having overcome Norwich City in their last game at Hillsborough, though they had gone three matches without winning on their own patch before that.

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Cardiff City Women survived a scare in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup second round against Cascade before winning 2-1 with a late Molly Kehoe goal.

Megan Waite put the Genero Adran South side ahead just before the half-hour mark.

Cascade had knocked out Cardiff's fellow Adran Premier team Cardiff Met in the Genero Adran Trophy round of 16 last week and another upset against a top-flight side looked in the offing.

But midway through the second half Nieve Jenkins bundled home the ball following a corner to bring Cardiff level, before Kehoe grabbed a dramatic winner deep into time added on to clinch a place in the quarter-finals.

Bute Energy Welsh Cup second round

North

Felinheli 0-10 Wrexham

Llandudno 0-6 The New Saints

NFA 0-8 Aberystwyth Town

South

Cardiff City 2-1 Cascade

Johnstown 0-3 Pontypridd United

Caldicot Town 2-2 Barry Town United (Barry win 4-2 pens)

Penydarren 1-11 Briton Ferry Llansawel

Carmarthen Town 0-3 Swansea City