New Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock will be looking to hit the ground running but which three teams stand in his way?
New Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock
Cardiff City’s appointment of Neil Warnock is being seen as a real coup but there will be pressure for the former Leeds United boss to hit the ground running.
The Bluebirds face three tough tests when they come back from the international break and two of them will be broadcast on Sky Sports, so we take you through each one.
Bristol City (Home)
Marlon Pack scores the first goal for Bristol City
Neil Warnock’s first game in charge is a mouth-watering Severnside Derby with Bristol City at the Cardiff City Stadium.
This fixture will be played on a Friday night in front of the Sky cameras and how those producers will be smiling, they certainly didn’t expect it to be Warnock’s first game in charge when they chose the fixture.
The game gives Warnock a huge chance to put down his marker and get the Cardiff City fans on-side.
However, Bristol have enjoyed a fantastic start to the season and possess the Championship’s signing of the season in Tammy Abraham, and with Cardiff’s poor form, this will be a real test for the Bluebirds.
Sheffield Wednesday (home)
Sheffield Wednesday’s Gary Hooper in action with
Another tough test arrives on Cardiff’s doorstep on the following Wednesday in the form of Sheffield Wednesday.
This one will make Neil Warnock’s mouth-water given his connections to Sheffield United and his love for football rivalry.
Sheffield Wednesday started the campaign with a real hangover from last season’s play-off final defeat but they’re slowly climbing back on-track and back in form.
Cardiff were essentially knocked out of the play-off race with a thrashing at Hillsborough towards the end of last season and they’ll be hoping to take some revenge here.
Nottingham Forest (Away)
Arsenal’s Chuba Akpom is brought down in the area by Nottingham Forest’s Michael Mancienne resulting in a penalty
Another of Cardiff’s fixtures to be broadcast on Sky with this one becoming a Saturday evening clash at the City Ground.
The City Ground has been a happy hunting ground for Cardiff of late with two wins from their last two but the visitors have little to shout about this season so far.
Forest started the season well but have struggled of late and they now find themselves in 18th. Montanier’s men have scored a lot of goals this season so if Cardiff can’t sew up their leaky defence, this one could get sour.
So what do Cardiff need?
Derby’s Tom Ince and Cardiff’s Declan John (R) in action
It’s been an awful start to the season and Cardiff need to get back on-track immediately. It’s a lot to ask with three tricky games but with two of them at home, they need to be taking six points from the three games if they’re looking to kick-start their season.
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