Cardiff City vs Hull City preview: Hull waiting on a miracle to stay up whilst Bluebirds target play-offs

Hull need a win and plenty of results to go their way on Wednesday night to survive, whilst Cardiff need a point to confirm a play-off place as the 2019/20 Championship season comes to an end.

Cardiff City vs Hull City preview: Hull waiting on a miracle to stay up whilst Bluebirds target play-offs
Hull boss Grant McCann is in need of a miracle | Photo by Lewis Storey - Getty Images
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By Lewis Browning

Hull City need a miracle on Wednesday evening if they are the stay in the EFL Championship.

The Tigers take on Cardiff City, and need to win with other results going their way. Grant McCann's side will have an eye on the games in Brentford, Leeds, Luton and Wigan, as well as a focus on their own game.

It’s very unlikely. Cardiff themselves have plenty to play for - a win would secure a play-off position with the potential of jumping up to fifth place with a big win and Nottingham Forest losing at home to Stoke City.

With a loss, though, Swansea City could leapfrog the Bluebirds into the final play-off position.

There’s a lot riding on the game for both Cardiff and Hull.

Form

Cardiff go into the game following back-to-back wins against Derby County and Middlesbrough. They have been slightly I consistent since the restart, though, with 13 points from eight games, and will hope to not slip up on Wednesday.

Hull are in free fall. The Tigers have lost five games in a row, and have scored just one goal in their last four matches. Everyone remembers the 8-0 defeat to Wigan just two games ago, but now is the time to pick up a win.

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Team news

Cardiff have no new injury doubts, but Lee Tomlin could be benched after starting two games in a row, given his fitness history.

There are also no fresh injury concerns for Hull, but manager Grant McCann is scraping the barrel at the minute to pick a team he feels he can trust. 

Previous clashes

The points were shared in the reverse fixture back in September, when a late Danny Ward goal earned Cardiff 2-2 draw.

After goals from Kamil Grosicki and Robert Glatzel respectively, Jordy de Wijs thought he’d won it with an 89th minute strike. Ward, thought fired home in extra time to square things up.

Hull lead the way in terms of the history between the clubs, with 24 wins to Cardiff’s 21. There have also been 21 draws.

Key players

Josh Murphy is bang in form after scoring a brace at Middlesbrough, and Robert Glatzel will again lead the line for Cardiff.

Captain Sean Morrison will once again look to impress in central defence next to Curtis Nelson

There aren’t many players Grant McCann can rely on right now, but George Honeyman has been played well and is one bright spark at a dark KCOM right now. 

There will be a lot of pressure on Tom Eaves and/or John Magennis to lead to line, whilst Matt Ingram will be under the cosh in goal in just his second league start.

What the managers have said

Cardiff boss Neil Harris was focused on the job at hand when speaking to the club’s website recently:

“Going into the final game of the season, we know a positive result puts us into the play-offs” he said. “We’re in a strong position and that’s important.

“We can’t assume we’re going to win the game. We’ve just got to prepare properly and take care of our business.

“We know what we need to do. There is no sentiment about other teams and what they’re doing. It is purely about Cardiff City.”

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Via the Belfast Telegraph, Hull manager Grant McCann felt the need to defend himself and his side:

"One thing I’m firmly focused on is trying to regroup myself, first and foremost, regroup my thoughts, try and reset and go from there. I’ll do that with myself and my staff” he said.

"People have got a right for an opinion and certainly the fans who pay their hard-earned cash, but one thing you’ll never get from me or Cliff and the staff we’ve got is hiding.

"We need to make sure we come back strong if we do end up going into League One, but we’ve still got a chance at Cardiff."