Preview: Plymouth Argyle vs. Cardiff City

Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Championship clash between Plymouth Argyle and Cardiff City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Cardiff City make the trip to Plymouth Argyle on Saturday looking for the win that they require to remain competitive in the Championship playoff race.

At a time when the Welsh outfit sit in 13th position in the standings, Plymouth are down in 19th spot and with a new head coach at the helm.

Match preview
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Erol Bulut has made no secret of the fact that he wants to add to his Cardiff squad this month in a bid to keep the club in the promotion hunt.

However, the longer that it takes to bring in fresh faces, the tougher ask it is getting with Cardiff now down in the bottom half of the table.

Seven points from the last five games is not the worst return at this stage of the campaign, yet the Bluebirds were comprehensively outplayed in a 3-0 defeat to Leeds United last weekend.

Beating Queens Park Rangers between that result and a 2-0 reverse to Leicester City was vital in keeping Cardiff in and among the teams vying for the top five.

Nevertheless, there is pressure to build on their recent three wins from five away games against a team who are now very much in transition.

Since Ian Foster took charge earlier this month, key men such as Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Luke Cundle and Finn Azaz have all departed Home Park.

Replacements have been found in the form of Ashley Phillips, Matthew Sorinola, Alfie Devine and Darko Gyabi, but they need to hit the ground running to keep Plymouth away from the bottom three.

A 1-1 draw at Huddersfield Town last weekend kept things ticking in the right direction, the Pilgrims having now lost just one of their last seven games in the Championship.

The gap ahead of the relegation zone has been extended to eight points, but Plymouth will need to build on that to avoid a second half of the campaign where a return to League One feels like a possibility.

Plymouth Argyle Championship form:

Plymouth Argyle form (all competitions):

Cardiff City Championship form:

Cardiff City form (all competitions):

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With Kesler-Hayden having returned to Aston Villa, Joe Edwards may come back into the Plymouth XI at right wing-back.

Sorinola and Devine are each available for selection, but they may have to make do with places on the substitutes’ bench.

Joe Ralls is likely to miss out for Cardiff after he suffered a groin injury in the first half against Leeds.

Either Andy Rinomhota or Rubin Colwill are in line to replace him in midfield, while Yakou Meite will expect a return to the attack.

The likes of Callum O’Dowda and Aaron Ramsey remain on the sidelines through injury.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Hazard; Phillips, Scarr, Galloway; Edwards, Houghton, Gyabi, Mumba; Whittaker, Wright; Hardie

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Alnwick; Ng, Goutas, McGuinness, Collins; Wintle, Siopis, Ralls; Bowler, Etete, Grant

We say: Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Cardiff City
With Plymouth having lost some key men of late, this feels like somewhat of a walk into the unknown until they settle under Foster. That may hand Cardiff an opportunity to get a much-needed win on the board, even if it comes during the latter stages.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Away Win:data

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