Cardiff City vs Reading: Match Preview 2022/23

Reading get the chance to impress in front of the TV cameras this evening as they take on Cardiff City, with a win for either side likely to boost their survival hopes.

The Bluebirds are in a particularly precarious situation at this stage - but their victory against Birmingham City in midweek will have given them a bit of confidence coming into this clash. Not only do Sabri Lamouchi’s side have the chance to boost their own chances of securing safety - but they can also drag another team into the relegation mix with them - with tonight’s visitors yet to seal their safety.

However, the Royals did pick up a confidence-boosting 2-1 victory over Rotherham United on Tuesday evening and that means both sides have a bit of momentum ahead of this meeting.

And with the game set to commence in just a matter of hours, we have some facts, thoughts and score predictions!

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What? Championship Matchday 32

Season? 2022/23

Who? Cardiff City

Where? Cardiff City Stadium

When? Friday 17th February

Opposition Manager? Sabri Lamouchi

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Pre-Match Thoughts

Cardiff City:

Even quite a few months on from his sacking, it’s still hard to see why Steve Morison was relieved of his duties. He may not have made the best start to the season but he had to build a new squad in the summer and with this, the early stages of the campaign were always going to be difficult.

Why let a manager oversee a rebuild and then not give him the necessary time to put his stamp on the squad? It was a nonsensical decision and if the Bluebirds do end up getting relegated, Vincent Tan and the board will have a lot to answer for. It was probably their worst decision since they decided to make their home kit red.

Lamouchi seems to be a more suitable candidate to take the club forward than Mark Hudson - but he hasn’t enjoyed the most successful start to life in the Welsh capital and will need to build on his side’s victory at St Andrew’s. In fairness, he’s only had a limited time to work with the players, so performances should improve as the season goes on.

And tonight promises to be a tough test for the visitors.

Reading:

Paul Ince has been a hot topic of conversation over the past week - and you can see both sides of the argument.

No one wants to see managers sacked all the time, especially in our situation with the EFL unlikely to be pleased if we make a change. We can’t build anything as well if we keep chopping and changing managers like a lot of clubs in the Championship do, with both Veljko Paunovic and Ince lasting a lot longer than some other coaches.

It’s also true that he made a brave decision to change things at half-time against Rotherham, with these alterations helping us to win the game. But why did he have to make these changes in the first place?

In fairness, the Shane Long substitution was probably due to the whack he got in the first half. But it was clear at 7pm on Tuesday that he picked the wrong lineup.

Nesta Guinness-Walker or Junior Hoilett not starting over Baba Rahman was a travesty - and Femi Azeez quite clearly deserved an opportunity to feature from kick-off after making a positive impression against Watford. I still believe a back five isn’t the root of our problems - it’s the style - though playing a back four tonight would be tempting with Andy Yiadom out.

We may have a limited squad - but with the likes of Guinness-Walker and Azeez at our disposal - we can be a lot more exciting and inventive in the final third than we have been for much of the season.

On Ince, I don’t think he did enough during the second half of last season to show that he should have been appointed permanently. It’s hard to argue with the fact he led us to safety last season and has guided us to a decent enough position this term - but some of his decisions are baffling and he seems to be repeating mistakes.

If he’s brave between now and the end of the season and has us on the front foot more, he may get some supporters back onside. But it’s difficult to ever see us playing too much exciting attacking football under him.

I’m not confident he’s the right man for the long term, though he should be commended for his important contributions.

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The Last Meeting

Reading 2-1 Cardiff City

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My Lineup

Starting XI: Lumley, Guinness-Walker, McIntyre, Sarr, Mbengue, Hoilett, Fornah, Hendrick, Azeez, Ince, Long

With Yiadom suspended and Rahman needing to come out of the starting lineup regardless of whether he’s fit or not, Guinness-Walker is promoted from the bench and Tom McIntyre drops back into central defence.

Tyrese Fornah also comes into the first 11, starting alongside Jeff Hendrick as a midfielder pair.

And the other man who deserves a start is Femi Azeez after making such a big impact in midweek. Having the academy graduate and Tom Ince on either wing could give us something different going forward.

Up top, Shane Long starts once more if he’s recovered from the whack he received on Tuesday.

Score Prediction: Cardiff City 0-1 Reading

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Elsewhere

Here are my Championship score predictions for the weekend:

Tomorrow -

Millwall 1-2 Sheffield United

Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Swansea City

Blackpool 2-2 Stoke City

Huddersfield Town 1-0 Birmingham City

Hull City 3-1 Preston North End

Luton Town 2-2 Burnley

Middlesbrough 3-0 Queens Park Rangers

Rotherham United 1-2 Coventry City

Sunderland 2-0 Bristol City

Wigan Athletic 1-3 Norwich City

Monday -

Watford 1-1 West Brom