Cardiff City travel North to Newcastle this weekend to face the Championship leaders but can they pull off a shock result?
Cardiff manager Neil Warnock
Strugglers Cardiff City take on league-leaders Newcastle United this weekend and although it looks straight forward on paper, a resurgent Neil Warnock side may give their hosts an unexpected test.
Most of Newcastle’s Championship opponents have probably accepted that the Magpies will win the league this term, given their huge budget and star-studded squad.
However, this means teams will travel to St James’ Park with a belief of having nothing to lose. Very few teams will expect any points from the North East this season and as a result, teams can simply go for it.
Cardiff City’s Manager Neil Warnock applauds the fans at the end of the match
Cardiff come into this one feeling very disappointed with the weekend’s defeat when they probably didn’t deserve to come away with nothing.
When they turned to the fixture list, they will have been disappointed to discover they may not have a great opportunity to get back on-track
There’s little doubt it’s the toughest fixture of the season but Cardiff should look at it as a measure of where they need to be, above all else.
Newcastle United’s Aleksandar Mitrovic scores their second goal
Barring a shock drop in form, Newcastle are likely to set the bench-mark for the standard this season and as Cardiff look to improve, this could be a good opportunity to find out just how far off they are.
If Cardiff can go to St James’ Park and compete, then they know they can compete with any team in the division, at any ground.
Neil Warnock is experienced enough to know that a good performance against the Magpies on Saturday can give his side a real belief and confidence, regardless of whether they take any points home.
Any points taken on Saturday would be huge for Cardiff but a good performance to give the team and supporters hope would be a respectable conciliation.
Cardiff’s Peter Whittingham scores their first goal
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
