Competition - Sky Bet Championship Venue - Cardiff City Stadium Date - 18 January 2025 Kick off - 12:30pm Following their ‘limp’ exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Southampton, next up for Luke Williams’ inconsistent Swansea squad is the South Wales derby against Cardiff. Last Sunday, Southampton's miserable season was boosted as the Premier League's bottom side cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over the Swans to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup. Teenager Tyler Dibling scored twice after Kamaldeen Sulemana had opened the scoring for the Saints, who were dominant throughout. Sulemana lofted the ball over the Swans stranded stand-in goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin to open the scoring and, but for some wayward finishing, Saints would have won by a bigger margin. Dibling tapped home to complete a flowing move to make it 2-0 and scored his second on 64 minutes as the Swans failed to clear. The hosts were able to cruise home in the final stages with the Swans only threatening through a late Joe Allen effort that struck the post. Bottom of the Premier League and with just one win all season, Southampton have had little to celebrate since promotion, but they were far too good for the Swans - the gulf in class was telling. Three days earlier, struggling Cardiff upset the Championship form book as they beat promotion-chasing Sheffield United in a low-key FA Cup third-round tie between two much-changed sides - both teams had made 7 changes. With a crowd of just 6,126 watching at Bramall Lane, Cardiff took an unexpected but deserved first-half lead against a team 20 places above them in the second tier as Cian Ashford dispossessed Rhys Norrington-Davies before speeding clear and finishing smartly. United, whose focus is on securing an instant return to the Premier League, improved after the break as Harrison Burrows hit the post, but they were still considerably below their best as they suffered a third defeat in five games. The Swans have played Cardiff on 77 occasions in games under the jurisdiction of the English FA, winning 34, losing 24 and drawing 19. In the corresponding fixture last season, the Swans under Michael Duff deservedly lost 0-2: Turning to tomorrow, if Darling and Cabango are both out, then I can see nothing other than a Cardiff win. If both play, if the Swans can cope with the hostile atmosphere in the Stadium (especially given that there is a pre-match protest march before the game) and if they play far better than their recent away performances, the Swans can win. But there are lots of ifs there …. I’d take a point now, but think that Cardiff will win by one goal if our CBs play, but could win by 2 or 3 if they don’t. Hope I’m wrong
Good, balanced match day thread as usual Taff. May the better team win as long as they are in blue. Putting our rivalry aside, you may not be aware that Omer Riza's father has passed away. Whether or not Omer will be pitchside we don't know. A little more info in the following link. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport...kCopy&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar
Never to be forgotten However... thank F we didn't lose the home game is the only thing I can think right now going into this one.
Honestly, the way we've been playing this season I wouldn't be shocked with any result, be it a 4 nil win, 4 nil loss or a dire 0 - 0. Hope is all we have.
decent write up as usual Taff. Interesting to see you boys aren't too confident today. Must admit, I'm never confident when it comes to playing you lot! Despite our recent unbeaten run we still can't close games out comfortably, and from seeing the bigging up of the game by your gaffer I fully expect you to come flying at us from the off. As we've seen previously we find that hard to cope with sadly. I'd take a draw now but obviously am praying for your lot to give a limp showing in line with last season (just can't see it though).
From Wales Online: “Cardiff City supporters will today take part in a march and protest against the club's ownership ahead of the crucial game against Swansea City. Some Bluebirds supporters have grown deeply unhappy over the way the club has been run in recent years, with an unsustainable number of managers having been put in post and Cardiff battling their third fight against relegation in four seasons. Supporters taking part in today's march, which will begin at the Admiral Napier pub in Canton at 11.30am and finish outside the stadium reception, are doing so on the basis that they believe the club will not move forward without major change at the top and want their voices to be heard.”
https://x.com/SwansOfficial/status/..._src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^tweet&mx=2 Darling and Cabango have their boots with them …..
