Cardiff v Wolves - Bluebirds End 81 Year Wait for 6th Round Appearance?
Wolves won 3-2 at Ninian Park back in October but don’t expect Wolves to devour the Bluebirds again. This is the first FA Cup encounter between these two sides in 87 years and Cardiff are aiming to reach the 6th round for first time since they won the cup in 1927. The Welsh side became the only side from outside England to ever win the prestigious trophy.
Cardiff enter the match on a 3-match winless run (2 defeats). However, they’ve only lost 3 of their last 15 matches so confidence should still be high. These sides could not be more evenly matched at the moment as both teams are only separated in the Championship table by goal difference. The Bluebirds have had a good run at home with only in-form Norwich winning at Ninian Park in the last 6 matches (5 wins).
Wolves also enter this match on an identical 3-match winless run to Cardiff (2 defeats) but it’s their lack of away goals that could be the key to this match. Mick McCarthy’s side have failed to score in 8 of the last 11 away games and only Championship bottom side Scunthorpe have scored less than their 11 away League goals this season. However, Wolves don’t concede many on their travels with only Charlton and Palace conceding less in the division. Therefore don’t expect a goal-fest like in the last encounter.
It’s been 5 years since Wanderers last reached the 6th round and with their recent poor scoring away run it is worth backing the Bluebirds to go through. This is arguably the hardest of the matches to predict as both sides are evenly matched so it may be worth covering your Premier 10 pick with a draw.
Pundit’s Pick: Bluebirds blow away the big bad Wolves (home win)
