We find out who Brentford will face in the ‘richest game in English football’ on Thursday evening when Fulham and Cardiff City settle their differences in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final at Craven Cottage.
Fulham hold all the aces going into this second leg after claiming a 2-0 lead in Wales on Monday night, so the Bluebirds have it all to do if they are going to give themselves a shot at an immediate return to the Premier League next Tuesday.
Where to watch
The match will be shown in full on the Sky Main Event and Sky Football channels. The build up to the clash begins at 7pm with the match itself kicking off at 7.45pm.
Fulham
Given the pressure they were under going into the play-offs, Fulham will be delighted with their display and the result from the first game at the Cardiff City Stadium. There was a bit of doubt about how they would perform when it was confirmed late on that Aleksandar Mitrovic was not fit to play, so the fact they could get such a dominant result without him can only be a huge boost. The other thing which will have delighted the Cottagers was their defensive display.
Cardiff are not an easy side to defend against but Fulham limited them to little over the course of the night and if they do that again in this second leg they will be the ones to face fellow Londoners Brentford at Wembley next week. The key thing for Fulham is to know how they are going to approach this second leg. A draw will be more than enough but we see it all the time that sides get caught in two minds about their approach with the lead and end up going nowhere.
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Cardiff City
When you think of where they have come from under Neil Harris, Cardiff City didn’t have a lot to lose going into these play-offs. The good thing for them in this second leg is they have even less to lose. The other positive thing for Cardiff is there doesn’t need to be any thoughts over whether to stick or twist now. They need to go for it and look to win the game handsomely. That can see them approach the game with more clarity.
Cardiff weren’t terrible in the first leg, they were just undone by two outstanding bits of quality but they will know if they get the first goal in this match they will be back in the tie and the pressure will suddenly pile onto their hosts. It is an upward task for the Bluebirds without a doubt but if they can offer up a little more composure and a clinical edge in both boxes they can get themselves into a position where they have a chance.
Team News
All eyes will be on the Fulham team sheet to see whether the name of Aleksandar Mitrovic is on it. Scott Parker expressed confidence that his star striker would be available but the question must be whether he’ll risk him from the start when he could be saved for the final.
Cardiff boss Neil Harris may have to make changes to get more attacking players in position in his line up. Josh Murphy would be the obvious one to bring in with his pace likely to cause issues. He remains without Isaac Vassell.
Betting
The way this tie is poised I’m expecting to see some goals in this second leg. Cardiff don’t need to go at it right from the first whistle but there is going to be a time where they need to throw caution to the wind and have a right good go and that is only going to serve to let Fulham counter them at will. With Fulham holding a two goal lead, the complexity of the tie changes again when the first goal is scored.
If Cardiff get it then it will be game on but it might well spur Fulham into life, although I don’t think they will look to sit on their lead by any means. If they do we should be excited about goals because I don’t rate this Fulham defence. If Fulham get the opening goal Cardiff are going to have to take some extraordinary risks to get back into the tie. However this one plays out I fancy we will see at least three goals so the odds against on over 2.5 goals will do for me.
Tips
Back Over 2.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with 888sport
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