Preview: Cardiff City vs. West Bromwich Albion - prediction, team news, lineups

The Bluebirds are knocking on the playoff door after collecting three points at Preston North End, whilst the Baggies produced a statement performance against Ipswich Town last time out.

Match preview

After earning just one point from matches against Stoke City and Norwich City prior to the international break, there was a considerable amount of pressure riding on Saturday afternoon's trip to Deepdale, where top-six hopefuls Preston awaited their challengers from Cardiff.

Erol Bulut's men found themselves chasing the game heading into the closing stages due to Milutin Osmajic's second-half strike, however added-time goals from West Brom loanee Karlan Grant and summer arrival Ike Ugbo handed the Bluebirds an unlikely maximum on the road.

Many pundits and second-tier supporters questioned the appointment of former Gaziantep boss Bulut ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, however the 48-year-old is currently steering Cardiff towards their lofty ambitions, with Tuesday's hosts seventh in the Championship standings, just a point outside of the playoffs.

The South Wales outfit welcomed nine fresh faces to the Cardiff City Stadium during a hectic summer window, adding to the former West Brom feel significantly, with the aforementioned Grant joining Callum Robinson and midfielder Romaine Sawyers in a dressing room determined to challenge at the top end of the division.

Cardiff have lost just one of their last four meetings with the Baggies at home, however that one defeat possibly had a profound effect on the Bluebirds' future transfer business, with Grant scoring a scrumptious long-range curler past goalkeeper Dillon Phillips as Valerien Ismael's Albion won 4-0 in Wales in September 2021.

West Brom have now won four of their last five Championship matches after breezing past high-flying Ipswich at The Hawthorns on Saturday evening, with Darnell Furlong and Grady Diangana finding the net either side of the half-time whistle for Carlos Corberan's charges.

Despite a number of off-field issues surrounding the club's ownership, the Baggies are really beginning to do their talking on the pitch, and a spell of six wins in their last nine as seen them climb to fifth in the second-tier table, two points ahead of seventh-placed Cardiff.

Six clean sheets have been earned during those nine contests, with the likes of goalkeeper Alex Palmer, Kyle Bartley and Cedric Kipre forming part of a stubborn backline who have conceded 17 goals in as many league matches so far - a record only league leaders Leicester City can look down on.

Similar to their promotion-winning campaign of the 2019-20 season under the expert stewardship of Slaven Bilic, the Baggies are sharing around the goalscoring burden, however former Reading star John Swift currently leads the Golden Boot race with six strikes despite lasting featuring from the start in the loss at Birmingham City on October 6.

Whilst their form at The Hawthorns has been enviable, West Brom have struggled on their travels this term, collecting just nine of their 29 league points away from their Black Country home, although they did impress in the second half despite ultimately losing at Southampton prior to the international break.

Cardiff City Championship form:

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West Bromwich Albion Championship form:

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Team News

Cardiff will remain without the services of a key figure on Tuesday night, with Wales legend Aaron Ramsey still recovering from a knee injury sustained in September.

Callum O'Dowda is another long-term absentee for the Bluebirds, with the 28-year-old last featuring for the club in the 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday in August.

Bulut is set to reward the players who came off the bench and inspired the late comeback at Preston, meaning Ugbo, Rubin Colwill and Ollie Tanner could be handed starting berths.

As for the visiting Baggies, midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah is a doubt for the midweek trip to Wales after a knee issue forced the former England international to miss the win over Ipswich on the weekend.

Despite Chalobah's absence, the Albion bench on Saturday afternoon had a healthier look to it compared to recent months, with Swift and striker Josh Maja returning from injury to make the matchday squad.

Adam Reach and Daryl Dike remain in the medical room for West Brom, with the latter targeting a return to action around Christmas following a serious Achilles tendon injury.

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:

Runarsson; Ng, Goutas, McGuiness, Collins; Siopis, Ralls, Bowler; Robinson, Colwill; Meite

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:

Palmer; Bartley, Kipre, Townsend; Furlong, Yokuslu, Molumby; Phillips; Diangana, Wallace, Thomas-Asante

We say: Cardiff City 1-2 West Bromwich Albion

Cardiff will be raring to go again after their last-minute heroics at Preston on Saturday, and you feel that the Bluebirds will be confident of recording another success.

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