The visitors are set to begin their life back in the second tier of English football after finishing at the bottom of the Premier League standings last season.
Cardiff City will host Norwich City in their Championship opener at Cardiff City stadium on Saturday. The visitors are set to begin their life back in the second tier of English football after finishing at the bottom of the Premier League standings last season. Cardiff, on the other hand, had a poor season last term, finishing 18th in the Championship table, just nine points above the relegation zone. The Blue Birds would be aiming to improve their standings this term, while Norwich would be hoping to earn promotion back to the Premier League. Cardiff had an impressive pre-season, winning four of their five friendlies this summer, while the visitors managed to record three wins and two defeats in their five friendlies.Â
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? https://t.co/haNDlYFiad#NCFC pic.twitter.com/OTIWCLwyEj— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) July 30, 2022
Cardiff began their pre-season with three successive wins against Cambridge United (3-2), Newport County (2-0) and Cheltenham (2-1) before playing out a goalless draw against Shrewsbyury. And then, defeated Swindon Town 4-2 last Saturday, courtesy of goals from Matt Watters, Andy Rinomhota, Ryan Wintle and Sheyi Ojo. Steve Morison’s side is certainly expected to secure a mid-table finish this term and they would be desperate to start the new campaign on a positive note.Â
Norwich, on the other hand, also began the summer with three consecutive victories against King’s Lynn Town (2-0), Marseille ( 3-0) and Cambridge United (3-1) before losing to Celtic (2-0) and Hibernian (1-0). The majority of last season’s squad are still at the club, while Isaac Hayden has returned from loan spell at Newcastle United and Gabriel Sara is the new summer signing.
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Cardiff boss Steve Morison is unlikely to make too many alterations to the starting eleven that got the job done against Swindon Town last weekend. Watters could lead the attack alongside O’Dowda and Ojo, while Rinomhota is likely to pull the strings from the midfield. As for Norwich, Hayden is unavailable due to a knee injury. Finnish striker Pukki is expected to lead the line with Rashica, Sargent and Sinani in support.
Cardiff City probable starting lineup: Allsop; Romeo, Ng, Kipre, Collins, Wintle, Rinomhota, Sawyers; Ojo, Watters, O’DowdaÂ
Norwich City probable starting lineup: Krul; Aarons, Omobamidele, Hanley, McCallum; McLean, Cantwell; Sinani, Rashica, Sargent; PukkiÂ
The EFL Championship match between Cardiff City and Norwich City will take place at Cardiff City stadium on Saturday at 7:30 pm IST.
The live coverage of the match is available on Sky Sports network.