This Sunday, Premier League will see a duel between Cardiff and Burnley, two teams that are very low on the table and are among the top relegation candidates. This means that losing this game would mean giving away points to a direct rival for staying in the league. Another reason why this game is important for both teams is that winning points would snap them out from the disastrous form they’re currently in. Read this Cardiff vs Burnley match preview to see which team is closer to achieving that goal.
Cardiff
The Welsh team is currently only one spot above the bottom of the Premier League table. Actually, they have the same number of points as the team on the bottom Huddersfield, so they could easily get even lower if they don’t win points of Sunday.
The worst thing is that they’ve been in a terrible form lately, losing three previous games, allowing a total of 12 goals along the way. Those three games took place in September, so it would be nice for them to end the month with a good performance against Burnley. Cardiff are probably fed up with allowing too many goals, so they probably won’t rush too much in the Burnley game. Not losing is their priority in this match.
To be fair to Cardiff, they did lose all of the matches in September because they played against some really heavyweight Premier League teams – Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City. They surely don’t have the quality to compete against those sides, but whether they have what it takes to win points against teams from the bottom half of the table, remains the question.
Burnley
This is the team that finished on the 7th spot on the Premier League table last season. They have basically the same squad as a few months ago, but their performances are not the same. Their poor run can be contributed to the fact that they played a couple of games on the Euro stage, so they weren’t entirely focused on the domestic league.
But, Burnley definitely have a team that deserves to be in the top English flight. And they demonstrated it last weekend, when they thrashed AFC Bournemouth 4:0. Burnley did lose on Wednesday evening to Burton in the League Cup, but for me, that’s just a sign that they’ve moved their focus entirely on the Premier League.
Same as last season, it seems that Burnley’s strongest weapon is their defense. They did allow 10 goals already, but this team has some super-talented defenders in the squad. I honestly doubt Cardiff attackers will be able to come anywhere near Burnley’s goal is Mee and Tarkowski play as they at the same level they played last season.
Team News
Cardiff absentees
- Lee Peltier (injury)
- Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (injury)
- Aron Gunnarsson (injury)
Burnley absentees
- Nick Pope (injury)
- Benjamin Gibson (injury)
- Robbie Brady (doubtful)
Possible Lineups
Cardiff
Etheridge – Morrison, Bamba, Ecule Manga, Bennett – Ralls, Camarasa, Arter, Hoilett – Reid, Ward
Burnley
Hart – Mee, Tarkowski, Lowton, Taylor – Westwood, Cork, Lennon, Gudmundsson – Vydra, Barnes
Cardiff vs Burnley Match Prediction
Both teams are better in the defense then in the attacking department. Therefore, I don’t think we will see too many goals in this match. Another reason why this will probably be the case is that not losing is more important than winning for both sides. That said, the game seems destined to finish as a draw.
Cardiff vs Burnley Betting Tips
- Under 2.5 Goals @2.55 (Unibet)
- Draw @3.13 (1XBet)