Preview: Cardiff City vs. Coventry City - prediction, team news, lineups

Coventry City make the trip to South Wales to face Cardiff City looking for the victory which would take the club back into the Championship playoff hunt.

While the Sky Blues occupy 12th position in the standings, Cardiff are down in 20th spot after seeing their three-match winning streak come to an end on Saturday.

Match preview

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Despite having recorded 10 points from a possible 18 in the Championship, Coventry have dropped down the table, a consequence of some of the teams around them putting together unforeseen turnarounds in form.

Nevertheless, Mark Robins can be pleased with the recent efforts of his squad, particularly after they rallied to claim a 3-2 victory at Reading on Saturday.

Although Robins will have issues with some of Coventry's defending, he will be delighted with the rare occurrence of scoring more than twice in a game, the winner also coming from an unlikely source in Ian Maatsen.

Coventry sit five points adrift of sixth spot but with an extremely favourable fixture list up until the March international break, the Sky Blues can still make an impact in the promotion hunt.

Two players netted their first goals of the season at the Madejski Stadium, and Robins will hope that extra help for the likes of Viktor Gyokeres and Matt Godden is a sign of things to come.

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From Cardiff's perspective, Steve Morison will welcome the opportunity to go into games without any lingering pressure on his shoulders courtesy of a recent three-match winning streak.

There was speculation regarding his future at the club, even though he has only been recently appointed as interim boss, but that nine-point haul has put breathing space between the Bluebirds and the bottom three.

Cardiff and Morison will still want to accumulate more points in the short term, particularly after Saturday's defeat at Millwall, but a relegation battle now seems unlikely with the four teams behind them seemingly scrapping between themselves.

Morison recently demanded an improvement in the final third and Cardiff have now netted in five league games in succession, although they were reliant on a last-minute Joel Bagan goal to continue that run at The Den.

Team News

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Despite conceding two late goals at Millwall, Morison is unlikely to tinker with a Cardiff backline that has otherwise been in good form.

However, changes could occur further up the pitch, with Will Vaulks and Uche Ikpeazu both in contention to start in midfield and attack respectively.

While Rubin Colwill missed out at the weekend due to a foot issue, the youngster may return to the substitutes' bench for this game.

Should Robins make any changes to his Coventry XI, it will likely be down the left-hand side with Jake Bidwell, Ian Maatsen and Jordan Shipley seemingly vying for two positions.

The latter may be the one to miss out, like at the weekend, while Martyn Waghorn is an injury doubt after not being involved against Reading.

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Smithies; Drameh, Ng, Flint, McGuinness, Bagan; Doyle, Wintle, Ralls; Hugill, Ikpeazu

Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Moore; Hyam, Rose, Clarke-Salter; Kane, Hamer, Sheaf, Bidwell; O'Hare, Maatsen; Gyokeres

We say: Cardiff City 1-1 Coventry City

Given the form of the teams around them, a draw is realistically no longer any use to Coventry in their playoff bid. Nevertheless, with Cardiff having improved of late, that feels like the most likely outcome, potentially with the home side rallying during the closing quarter.

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