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Game #12 of the already grueling Championship season sees the Bluebirds head off to "Pie Eater" country with a visit to Wigan Athletic. The Latics have played a game less than Cardiff but still currently sit 3 places and 1 point above the City in the table.
Their very recent form (1 win, 2 defeats) doesn't sound brilliant, but taking their last 6 (3 wins, 2 defeats and a draw) they are certainly not to be sniffed at.
Last seasons top scorer Will Keane (27 goals in all competitions) is once again leading the way with 5 already this season, however if the Bluebirds rear guard can keep him in check then a clean sheet could be in the offing with only a solitary goal for each of their other scorers this season.
Our hosts also contain 2 former Bluebirds in the shape of full back Joe Bennett and striker Josh Magennis. Let's hope neither has a good day against their former employers if they take to the field!
Wigan manager Leam Richardson is a relative unknown (at least to this Bluebird), however a quick check tells me that he was previously Accrington manager (who are they?) and has been in post at the DW since 2020 (whilst mentioning the ground name, does anyone else find it a bit OTT naming a ground after yourself? In saying that, the BrizzleBluebird Bowl has a nice sound to it don't you think?? Just need that big lottery win to afford it).
the last time the two sides met at the DW was way back in August 2019 with the hosts running out 3-2 winners in a topsy turvey game, which saw the Bluebirds take the lead through Joe Ralls, Wigan then go 2-1 up, only for the lesser spotted Omar Bogle to pull the boys in blue level against his former club... however the joy was short lived as 5 minutes later, Josh Windass grabbed the Latics 3rd.
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Omar was clearly shocked to hear the expletives coming from his best mates mouth about the refs performance after the 3-2 defeat.
The Latics also have the upper hand quite significantly in this fixture overall, with 12 wins, double the Bluebirds meagre 6 and with 11 games drawn. Not great history but time to start redressing the balance methinks!
Early Team News
The Bluebirds treatment room must be starting to get a little cramped as adding to the Bluebirds injury woes is Mahlon Romeo following his ankle injury sustained in the excellent win on Tuesday night over Blackburn. he is joined on the sidelines by Rubin Colwill, Isaak Davies (still) and it's still too early to see Ebou Adams back too.
It's highly likely that Parry Ng will move out to right back with J B Simpson coming into the centre of defence however, temporary gaffer Mark (2 points a game) Hudson has also been talking up the abilities of Vontae Campbell, so a first appearance since a red card for the young player may be in the offing.
The midfield permutation is anyone's guess but you'd expect Wintle and O'Dowda to retain their places whilst Robinson, after another busy and intelligent display up front is a shoe in for sure.
Prutton Predicts
After getting it wrong (again) on Tuesday night, the Sky guy is opting for a cautious 1-1 this time around (he clearly has commitment issues!).
The bookies at Skybet are more in favour of a home win however, with odds as follows;
Home 6/4 Draw 11/5 Away 19/10
Sharing The Love
The Bluebirds and the Latics share quite a few players in common, many of which would definitely rank amongst some of my favourite all time players.
Tuesday's shoulder soldier Gary Croft could again be on the list (but I left him off), Peter Thorne, Jason Koumas, housewives favourite Kevin McNaughton and more recently Kieffer Moore have all donned the Bluebird's blue shirt and the Blue & white of Wigan too, however, this section is going to have a little bit of a love in with ex-Bluebird skipper Graham Kavanagh.
Kavanagh joined the Bluebirds for a then club record fee of £1 million (though that was soon beaten by Thorney coming in from Stoke just behind him) and of course was reportedly whisked away from the City's training ground in near tears after being sold to Wigan for around £400k as the financial stresses of the Hammam era started to surface.
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Graham Kavanagh desperately tried to leap from the rising helicopter in a bid to avoid leaving his beloved Bluebirds, only to discover Wigan had instructed the crew to tie him to the seat.
Kav scored many a memorable goal and was a huge driving force in our midfield during his period at the club, but the one goal and one game that will live long in the memory is of course the 2-1 FA Cup victory over the then Premier League leaders Leeds Utd.
That night seemed to spark a massive downturn for the Yorkshire-men and we appeared to hold a bit of a voodoo sign over them for most seasons once they joined us in the Championship.
What a game, what an atmosphere!!
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No caption necessary... just class, sheer class!
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So, can the Bluebirds go three and easy without defeat? Will we worry Wigan with our new found confidence?? Can we turn the DW into the Oh Dear W stadium for the pie munching home fans??? All I know is being cheered on by close to 1,000 traveling fans again must surely give Huds heroes a lift!!
Bloooooobirds!!!
Brizzo - you're embarrassing the rest of us on here pal. 
happy to serve.
