11-12-2024, 08:40
The Fitness Test
Robbie Brady, who has been sidelined through injury since the end of October, is expected to be back available for this fixture.
Mads Frøkjær made his return from injury in last weekend's draw against Sheffield Wednesday, while Liam Lindsay returned to the bench and will be pushing for a start.
There are no fresh injury problems for the manager to worry about.
The Bluebirds
Cardiff City head into Wednesday night looking for a first victory in six matches, after taking two points from a possible 15.
The run comes after a brilliant turn of form under the interim management of Omer Riza, which saw them go six unbeaten, with four wins coming in that time.
The 45-year-old has as a result been handed the permanent gig in Cardiff and will be hoping to steer them away from the bottom end of the table before long.
The Officials
Referee: James Linington
Assistant Referees: Alex James and Alistair Nelson
Fourth Official: Sam Allison
James Linington will take charge of a North End fixture for the first time in over a year, with the previous occasion being a 2-1 victory over Sunderland in August 2023.
Linington has actually refereed this fixture twice before in December 2017 and March 2022.
So far this season, he’s refereed nine matches and shown 36 yellow cards.
THE BOSS
Paul Heckingbottom says his side are producing “exactly what we want” at the moment, but it’s the crucial bits in both boxes which they just haven’t been able to get right.
The manager has said on many occasions after matches within this ten-game winless run that he’s been pleased with the majority of what he’s seen from his team, albeit the performances haven't been converted into three points.
It’s pretty clear to the boss why that hasn’t happened and he’ll be wanting his side to make sure it does on Wednesday night when they head to Cardiff.
.
Hecky said: “Ultimately what you do in both boxes defines your season. On a rolling average over the last 12 games, we're performing as well as, if not better than, Sheffield United at the top of the league in terms of xG for and xG against.
“If anyone had said that to me when we came in that we could be doing that, then I'd have snapped their hand off. But, if I compare us to that team, they've been really clinical at one end of the pitch, and then keeping clean sheets and really limiting the damage at the other, even though they're not giving anything away like us.”
While those traits in performances have been big pluses as far as the manager’s concerned, he also wants his side to then be able to generate wins from displays which perhaps aren’t as strong as others.
Hecky said: “Or let's just be good at winning ugly, you know? I'm looking at some of the teams, it's no disrespect to them, but I'm looking at them and I'm watching them perform and I'm watching the games back, and I'm watching Sheffield Wednesday – no disrespect – but they’ve just been second best in two games and took four points.
“We’ve been second best in two games and lost them. Listen, we'll always try and be the best team on the pitch because it gives you more chance of winning the game, but I also want us to develop when we are poor or not at our best or second best in that particular game, that we can still come away with three points.”
North End were boosted by the return from injury of Mads Frøkjær and Liam Lindsay in the 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday, although the latter was limited to a place on the bench.
On his fitness, Hecky said: “Every day he's got better and better and better. I wouldn't have been comfortable expecting him to get 90 or anything like that.
“But bit by bit, his ball striking and the little bits that are still giving him some pain, he's got through them, so we're pleased with that.”
OMAR
Omer Riza spoke to Cardiff City TV ahead of our Sky Bet Championship clash against Preston North End on Wednesday evening.
The Lilywhites are currently 17th in the table and claimed a 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday this past Saturday.
"Their last few results have been quite good," Omer began. "They work hard, they’re an aggressive side out of possession, they’ll come out, they’ll come after us and they’ll make it hard for us.
"They’ve got their way of doing things; obviously we’ve studied that and hopefully we’ll find ways to counteract it."
The Bluebirds are set to return to action at Cardiff City Stadium, following the postponement of our clash with Watford over the weekend.
Omer continued: “We prepared well for the game against Watford and everyone was looking forward to it. We’ve had a little bit of extra time leading up to this game and preparation has been good. We’ve trained through the week, we’re organised and ready to go.
“They’re professional boys and they take on a lot of information. We try not to make it too difficult to do that. They’re ready for this game.
“I think it always helps not to have a congested schedule. It would have been Saturday to Wednesday, so we would have had less preparation time, less rest and a bit more tiredness. They [Preston] have played on Saturday, so it leads us into a strong game."
So far this campaign, City have claimed some impressive wins at CCS, with fantastic performances against the likes of Plymouth Argyle, Portsmouth and Norwich City.
“We’ve already been here in charge for two months now, so nothing really changes other than the fact that we know where we want to go and what we want to reach," Omer added. "Nothing will change overnight; the boys are ready and hopefully the fans are ready for a good game on Wednesday.
"The twelfth man, we always speak about it. The fans have been brilliant this year when it comes to the games. We need them more than ever now.
"It’s that part of the season, the business end of the season if you like and we need them. Hopefully, we’ll keep continuing to put on performances and pick up the points that we need to."
Robbie Brady, who has been sidelined through injury since the end of October, is expected to be back available for this fixture.
Mads Frøkjær made his return from injury in last weekend's draw against Sheffield Wednesday, while Liam Lindsay returned to the bench and will be pushing for a start.
There are no fresh injury problems for the manager to worry about.
The Bluebirds
Cardiff City head into Wednesday night looking for a first victory in six matches, after taking two points from a possible 15.
The run comes after a brilliant turn of form under the interim management of Omer Riza, which saw them go six unbeaten, with four wins coming in that time.
The 45-year-old has as a result been handed the permanent gig in Cardiff and will be hoping to steer them away from the bottom end of the table before long.
The Officials
Referee: James Linington
Assistant Referees: Alex James and Alistair Nelson
Fourth Official: Sam Allison
James Linington will take charge of a North End fixture for the first time in over a year, with the previous occasion being a 2-1 victory over Sunderland in August 2023.
Linington has actually refereed this fixture twice before in December 2017 and March 2022.
So far this season, he’s refereed nine matches and shown 36 yellow cards.
THE BOSS
Paul Heckingbottom says his side are producing “exactly what we want” at the moment, but it’s the crucial bits in both boxes which they just haven’t been able to get right.
The manager has said on many occasions after matches within this ten-game winless run that he’s been pleased with the majority of what he’s seen from his team, albeit the performances haven't been converted into three points.
It’s pretty clear to the boss why that hasn’t happened and he’ll be wanting his side to make sure it does on Wednesday night when they head to Cardiff.
.
Hecky said: “Ultimately what you do in both boxes defines your season. On a rolling average over the last 12 games, we're performing as well as, if not better than, Sheffield United at the top of the league in terms of xG for and xG against.
“If anyone had said that to me when we came in that we could be doing that, then I'd have snapped their hand off. But, if I compare us to that team, they've been really clinical at one end of the pitch, and then keeping clean sheets and really limiting the damage at the other, even though they're not giving anything away like us.”
While those traits in performances have been big pluses as far as the manager’s concerned, he also wants his side to then be able to generate wins from displays which perhaps aren’t as strong as others.
Hecky said: “Or let's just be good at winning ugly, you know? I'm looking at some of the teams, it's no disrespect to them, but I'm looking at them and I'm watching them perform and I'm watching the games back, and I'm watching Sheffield Wednesday – no disrespect – but they’ve just been second best in two games and took four points.
“We’ve been second best in two games and lost them. Listen, we'll always try and be the best team on the pitch because it gives you more chance of winning the game, but I also want us to develop when we are poor or not at our best or second best in that particular game, that we can still come away with three points.”
North End were boosted by the return from injury of Mads Frøkjær and Liam Lindsay in the 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday, although the latter was limited to a place on the bench.
On his fitness, Hecky said: “Every day he's got better and better and better. I wouldn't have been comfortable expecting him to get 90 or anything like that.
“But bit by bit, his ball striking and the little bits that are still giving him some pain, he's got through them, so we're pleased with that.”
OMAR
Omer Riza spoke to Cardiff City TV ahead of our Sky Bet Championship clash against Preston North End on Wednesday evening.
The Lilywhites are currently 17th in the table and claimed a 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday this past Saturday.
"Their last few results have been quite good," Omer began. "They work hard, they’re an aggressive side out of possession, they’ll come out, they’ll come after us and they’ll make it hard for us.
"They’ve got their way of doing things; obviously we’ve studied that and hopefully we’ll find ways to counteract it."
The Bluebirds are set to return to action at Cardiff City Stadium, following the postponement of our clash with Watford over the weekend.
Omer continued: “We prepared well for the game against Watford and everyone was looking forward to it. We’ve had a little bit of extra time leading up to this game and preparation has been good. We’ve trained through the week, we’re organised and ready to go.
“They’re professional boys and they take on a lot of information. We try not to make it too difficult to do that. They’re ready for this game.
“I think it always helps not to have a congested schedule. It would have been Saturday to Wednesday, so we would have had less preparation time, less rest and a bit more tiredness. They [Preston] have played on Saturday, so it leads us into a strong game."
So far this campaign, City have claimed some impressive wins at CCS, with fantastic performances against the likes of Plymouth Argyle, Portsmouth and Norwich City.
“We’ve already been here in charge for two months now, so nothing really changes other than the fact that we know where we want to go and what we want to reach," Omer added. "Nothing will change overnight; the boys are ready and hopefully the fans are ready for a good game on Wednesday.
"The twelfth man, we always speak about it. The fans have been brilliant this year when it comes to the games. We need them more than ever now.
"It’s that part of the season, the business end of the season if you like and we need them. Hopefully, we’ll keep continuing to put on performances and pick up the points that we need to."
Why should a man go to work, if he has the health and strength to stay in bed?