Cardiff City vs Watford preview: How to watch, kick-off time, team news, predicted line-ups and ones to watch

Cardiff City, who are unbeaten in their last 11 league games, look to continue their run as they host second-place, Watford. The Hornet's have won six of their last seven games and will hope to keep up this momentum in their bid for an automatic promotion spot.

The appointment of Mick McCarthy, who replaced Neil Harris as manager of Cardiff in January, has worked wonders for the side. They are yet to lose under the Irishman, gaining 25 points out of a possible 33. He has just been awarded February's EFL Manager of the Month.

Watford boss, Xisco Munoz, has adopted a new system in recent weeks in the 4-3-3 formation, which has ultimately had a huge impact on form. After this game, Watford face what looks like to be a good run of fixtures in Rotherham, Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday, as they hope to pile the pressure on for those all-important promotion places.

Team news

Both sides will have benefitted from a rare full week without a game, with both managers expressing how ready the teams are for the match.

The Bluebird's have welcomed back Jordi Osei-Tutu and Perry Ng Tian-Hee to training this week. In his pre-match press conference, McCarthy made it clear that Osei-Tutu is not likely to feature yet, but the return of Ng will be a good boost for the home side.

McCarthy said: "Perry's been great, he's very solid and a really good player so we're delighted to have him back."

There will be late fitness tests for Watford midfielder Dan Gosling and left-back Achfraf Lazaar, ahead of travelling to the Welsh capital. They will be without skipper Troy Deeney, who is facing a spell on the sidelines with an Achilles injury. Tom Cleverley, who has been pivotal to the Watford midfield this season, is hoping to return after the international break later this month after suffering minor ligament damage in their game last week. Watford have welcomed the return of goalkeeper Ben Foster, who has spent the week training with the first-team for the first time since a finger injury, which kept him out of action since January. Nathanial Chalobah will also return after suspension.

Predicted line-ups

Cardiff:
Phillips (GK), Ng, Morrison, Flint, Nelson, Bagan, Vaulks, Ralls, Wilson, Murphy, Moore

Watford:
Bachmann (GK), Masina, Sierralta, Troost-Ekong, Femenia, Hughes, Chalobah, Zinckernagal, Sarr, Joao Pedro, Sema

Ones to watch

Cardiff City's top goalscorer so far this season and fifth in the Championship, Kieffer Moore, has been deadly in the box and is a player that the Hornet's defence will need to close down quickly. He has netted 16 times so far and, according to WhoScored.com, takes an average of 2.8 shots per game and wins an average of 10.8 aerial duels.

Watford's Will Hughes works tirelessly in midfield week in week out, contributing to both the defensive and attacking play. Hughes captained the side in their win against Nottingham Forest last week in the absence of Cleverley and Deeney. With a pass success rate of 80.7% according to WhoScored.com, he will be a player that Cardiff will need to pressure.

Previous meetings

The reverse fixture was played in December last year and a Moore goal, just before half-time, was the difference between the two sides, with Cardiff taking all three points. This was Watford's first home loss in the league, and their manager at the time, Vladimir Ivic, was sacked just two weeks later. Both sides have new managers and are under a good run of form going into this game.