Cardiff City

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Cardiff City will be aiming to create history in Saturday's south Wales derby away at Swansea City.

Neither team had managed a league double in the first 111 years of this fixture, before Swansea claimed the first in 2022 and repeated the trick last season.

This time, Cardiff are hoping to claim their first double having outplayed their arch rivals to win the reverse encounter 2-0 last September.

"It’s a big incentive [the double]," said Ralls.

"It’s a unique, one-off game. We had that feeling in the first game.

"This game can be a springboard for the rest of the season. We are fully motivated."

Ralls is also glad to be coming into this fixture with Cardiff in a more settled state than they have been in recent years.

Erol Bulut will be the first Cardiff manager since Dave Jones during the 2010-11 season to manage the Bluebirds in two league derbies in the same campaign.

"It’s great to have consistency with the manager," Ralls added.

"We have had a great season with the manager. Having that consistency is big."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

The stakes are always high when it comes to the South Wales derby, especially for managers.

Because the last decade of meetings between Swansea City and Cardiff City have shown it is not just bragging rights on the line for bosses in this fixture – it is their jobs.

A remarkable statistic circulated on social media this week, pointing out that Erol Bulut will become the first Cardiff manager to take charge of both derby fixtures in a season since the days of Dave Jones.

But the derby dugout quirk goes further, showing that the last 11 managers to have lost this fixture have not been in place by the time the next derby comes around.

And again you have to go back to Jones’ time in charge of the Bluebirds for the last boss to have been beaten in a derby and still be in the job for the return match.

That came in November 2010 when Marvin Emnes’ goal inflicted a home defeat on Cardiff, only for a Jones-led side to get revenge at the Liberty Stadium three months later via a Craig Bellamy beauty.

Brendan Rodgers was the Swans boss that day but had left for Liverpool by the time the teams renewed rivalries in the Premier League in 2013.

And so the derby ‘curse’ continued with Michael Laudrup and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer both losing games and being removed from their posts by the time the sides met again in the Championship in 2019.

There, Swansea wins under Steve Cooper saw both Neil Warnock and Neil Harris depart before the next fixture rolled around - with a goalless draw in between providing a stay of execution.

And when Cooper’s Swans were upset at home by Mick McCarthy’s Bluebirds, the Welshman had moved on before McCarthy’s trip west the following season.

The man who replaced Cooper, Russell Martin, then proceeded to oversee four straight derby wins against four different Cardiff managers, with McCarthy, Steve Morison, Mark Hudson and Sabri Lamouchi all only managing one derby each.

And while Martin left the fixture unbeaten when he joined Southampton, the curse continued when Michael Duff lasted 11 weeks after a comfortable Cardiff win last September following Bulut’s arrival.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Saturday marks Luke Williams' turn to try out just how high the stakes are, although he has sampled the passions as part of Martin’s victorious coaching staff.

Meanwhile Bulut has the chance to engineer a first ever Cardiff double in the fixture – something that would no doubt add to the voices backing him for a new contract beyond the summer.

But if history is anything to go by, if there is a winner on Saturday, only one will be around by the next time the South Wales rivals go head to head.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

No matter what happens in Saturday’s south Wales derby, Erol Bulut has made his point at Cardiff City – having already bettered last season’s total.

And they are a whisker away from guaranteeing a better return than the campaign before that.

In fact, the Bluebirds' recent resurgent form has put Bulut’s side in with a chance of their best points return since winning promotion to the Premier League under Neil Warnock.

Back in 2018, Warnock’s winners finished on an impressive 90 points to go up behind champions Wolves – and with nine games to play were some 14 points ahead of where Cardiff’s class of 2024 stand now.

But Saturday’s win over Ipswich Town has taken their current tally to 53 points – four points more than they mustered last term when they finished just a place above the relegation zone.

And it is already level with the 53 they accrued in the 2021-22 season under Mick McCarthy and Steve Morison.

The next yardstick will be the 2020-21 season, when Cardiff finished eighth on 68 points.

That was the year in which there had been worries of being dragged into a relegation fight before Neil Harris was replaced by McCarthy.

Bulut’s team would have to pick up a further 15 points from their nine remaining games to reach that marker.

But what of the last Cardiff side to reach the play-offs? That came in the Covid-affected 2019-20 season when Harris replaced Warnock in November, finishing the season on 73 points. Getting to that total would mean Cardiff picking up an eye-catching 2.22 points per game from now until May.

Interestingly, though, Cardiff are currently only one point further back than Harris’ side were at the same stage of that season.

Back then they went into the final 10 matches still five points off the top six, winning seven of their last ten fixtures to secure a place in the play-offs.

It would take a similarly impressive run to match that feat but, regardless, beating the past two sorry seasons suggests progress is being made at Cardiff City Stadium.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Cardiff City showed against Ipswich they aren’t ready to give up on their season, according to former striker Nathan Blake.

The Bluebirds’ winter form – including a run of five defeats in six – had seemingly wiped out any hopes of reaching the Championship play-offs.

But Saturday’s comeback win over Ipswich, their fourth victory in succession, has left Erol Bulut’s side five points outside the top six with nine games remaining.

Ex-Wales frontman Blake, speaking on BBC Radio Wales Sport, had been sceptical of the chances of a late surge to the play-offs given the manner of recent performances.

But he was heartened by captain Ryan Wintle’s pre-match claims of not wanting the season to "peter out" – and says they backed it up against the top two chasing Tractor Boys.

“We say it so many times - it’s about confidence,” said Blake on how Cardiff managed to produce one of their best performances of the season to re-ignite top-six hopes.

“I heard Ryan Wintle before the game saying he didn’t want their season to fizzle out - and that’s how they played.

“They played like they know there’s a small gap in the window, a little chink of light, and have said to themselves ‘why not have a go and see where it takes us?’”

Cardiff had impressed enough before a goal from former Bluebird Kieffer Moore looked to have put Ipswich on course for their seventh straight win, only for Wintle and Callum O’Dowda to strike deep into injury time.

Blake added: “It would have been easy after going behind to say we’ve done well against a side who are flying, all the excuses were there for them, but they stuck to their chance and got the winner in the 110th minute. It was a Cardiff City performance, a really good performance.”

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut hailed the return of Callum O'Dowda after the winger marked his comeback from a long-term injury by scoring a dramatic late winner against Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Republic of Ireland international O'Dowda missed six months of the season with a groin injury before returning as a substitute during last weekend's win at former club Bristol City.

The 28-year-old then popped up with an another fine cameo appearance against Ipswich, scoring an injury-time winner to spark wild celebrations at Cardiff City Stadium.

"I am really glad for him," said Bulut.

"Four months, an injury, then he got injured again and has to prepare.

"His quality, we were never thinking negatively. He is really pushing hard until the end. I am really glad that he scored the winning goal.

"If you have quality around you, you have quality, really good players, football is like this with top teams."

Image source, Rex Features

Manager Erol Bulut says Cardiff City’s confidence is back after they staged a stunning late turnaround to beat Ipswich Town and earn a fourth successive win.

Bulut described Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the Championship promotion contenders as maybe Cardiff’s best performance of the season.

The Bluebirds are now unbeaten in five games, having been on a run of only one win from eight matches before then.

“Confidence is very important,” said Bulut.

“When you see a few weeks before, confidence was not good. Players are afraid to make mistakes, this is normal.

“But you can only get it back with fighting, trying things you didn't try before.

“We started with 0-0 against Blackburn, that was key to get confidence back.

“That was important, then we push more, four in a row, now confidence is back.

“The players are in a good way to continue this way. Everyone is believing.”

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut says he still looks back with regret at Cardiff's September defeat at Ipswich Town.

The Bluebirds lead by two goals before losing 3-2 and ahead of Ipswich's visit to the Cardiff City Stadium, Bulut admits it is a result that still rankles.

"It was one of the games where we could have taken at least one point," he said. "Ipswich are a team who have many wins in the last 15 minutes. Like against Bristol City, they were quiet up until 2-1 and then they changed the game again. So, we have to be careful with this.

"We have one day less of recovery coming up against them Saturday. We have to recover quickly. It will be a tough game, of course."

Bulut says the Tractor Boys are a good example of a squad that has been well put together.

"They have a good team," he said.

"They have played together for two years with the coach. They have made really good work this season. Every player has settled and helped them, this is important."

Bulut's future is uncertain, with the boss out of contract this summer, but he insists he is not thinking about that.

"For right now, I am thinking only about good results and a good position in the league with Cardiff City," he added.

"There are 10 games more to play, I want to get maximum points. I am not thinking about what will happen tomorrow, I am thinking only about winning games with my team."

Image source, Getty

Former Cardiff City defender Danny Gabbidon believes that the club's growing momentum can only be a good thing.

However, the former Wales international says that reaching the Championship play-offs might be beyond Cardiff City this season.

Gabbidon watched his former side make it three victories on the bounce with a 1-0 home win over strugglers Huddersfield Town.

Last night's win also saw Erol Bulut's side achieve back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since November.

"It's another three points to keep that momentum going, without necessarily being at their best," said Gabbidon on BBC Radio Wales Sport

"It's about trying to put those building blocks back in place, hopefully they can keep this momentum going and who knows, there's still a lot of football to be played."

The Bluebirds currently sit 10th in the table, seven points adrift of Hull City in sixth place.

With the business end of the season well and truly upon us, some Cardiff City fans may have half an eye on a late play-off charge. However Gabbidon believes it to be a step too far this season.

"I believe that the Cardiff City team at the start of the season would've beaten this Huddersfield team by two or three goals, there not quite that team at the moment," added Gabbidon.

"I think the play-offs are a little bit beyond Cardiff City this season, I would be very surprised if they did manage to make to it."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Midfielder Ryan Wintle says confidence levels are improving at Cardiff City.

A recent revival has seen the Bluebirds rise to 10th in the Championship, with their win against Huddersfield on Wednesday meaning they have now collected 10 points from their past four games.

"You don't think the confidence has dropped," Wintle told BBC Sport Wales.

"But you can see everyone in the squad believes in each other. People who have been out of the squad injured, them coming back even boosts the squad. We are all fighting now and hopefully we can keep winning."

The Bluebirds are seven points off the play-offs, but Wintle says the players won't give up on sneaking into them with 30 points still to play for.

"We all said a few weeks ago that we don't want it to just peter out and for it to become another boring season," he said.

"The last couple of seasons have been horrible, fighting to stay in the division. Now we are looking up. The Championship is crazy. If we can just keep winning, you never know where we will end up."

Wintle admits that the dressing room is not immune from the 'what if' conversations fans tend to have.

"You get lads in there (dressing room) now talking, 'Ah, if we didn't do that, if we didn't lose those three or four games where we should have won...' If you look like that, we should be in the play-offs," he added.

"But you can't think like that. We probably won a few games we shouldn't have. It's about looking forward now and getting better."

Image source, Getty

Huddersfield Town will be aiming to halt the Bluebirds' momentum when they take on Cardiff City tonight.

Since taking over in mid-February, Andre Bretenreiter has enjoyed an unbeaten start, including a well-earned 1-1 draw at home to promotion chasing Leeds United.

Huddersfield played the entirety of the second half with ten men, after club captain Jonathan Hogg was sent off for a second bookable offence.

The Terriers arrive in Wales searching for back-to-back away wins, as they bid to pull themselves closer to Championship safety.

Huddersfield currently sit 21st in the table on 38 points, only out of the relegation zone on goal difference.

New boss Andre Bretenreiter has praised Cardiff as a very "technical" team full of "self-confidence" and sees similarities in his side after his first few weeks in charge.

The German is also mindful of the threat Erol Bulut's side cause, especially from set-pieces.

"Set-pieces are important, we are aware of that threat from Cardiff, we need to be sharp and we need to take care of our side of business," said the Huddersfield Town boss.

The Bluebirds have managed 18 goals from set-pieces this season, more than any other side in the Championship.

Will that tally be added to tonight?