Source: FOOTYMAD
C'mon the lads. Foxes v City
The ambition of every club not in the Premier League is to actually get there. After what has turned out to be an excellent season on the pitch Cardiff City have given themselves a one in four chance of making it to the top table.First up is a trip to Leicester for a 1.15pm kick off on Sunday. All these play off games are live on Sky Sports and Sky Sports HD.The 2nd leg is in Cardiff on Wednesday evening, ko 7:45pm. There is NO away goals rule. If after both games the scored are level on aggregate there will be 30 mins of extra time and if needbe, penalties.Dave Jones rested virtually his entire first team last week at Derby. His big guns have now had two weeks off so should be fit and raring to go against Leicester.Jones has revealed pre match that he has reduced his squad to just 20 players for the play offs. Two keepers, Marshall and Enckelman and 18 outfield players. Cardiff possible v Leicester:Marshall, McNaughton, Blake, Gerrard, Kennedy, Whittingham, Burke, Ledley, McPhail, Bothroyd, Chopra. Subs from Enckelman, Matthews, Capaldi, Taiwo, Etuhu, McCormack, Hudson, Wildig or Gyepes. I'm guessing at the exact list of 18 outfield players but I shouldn't be far wrong. In my view Jones' main decision is whether to bring Mark Hudson in for the excellent Darcy Blake. I'd leave Darcy in the starting line up.I think he'll start with Chopra and Bothroyd up front and prefer Burke over McCormack and Etuhu on the wing but there are potential changes that could be made there.I think think Jones will go for Kennedy's experience at left back. The Irishman was in Jones' Wolves side that won promotion at the Millennium Stadium in 2003.Leicester themselves made the play offs with a game or two to spare and have done really well since gaining promotion from League 1 last season. They have danger players in Matty Fryatt and Martyn Waghorn but they will be with Steve Howard for the first leg as he is suspended.The teams have already met three times this season. Cardiff won an FA Cup 4 - 2 after coming from 2 - 1 down at the CCS. Then the away Championship game ended 1 - 0 to Leicester at The Walkers and the Championship match at the CCS finished 2 - 1 to Cardiff with City hanging on with 10 men after Gyepes rugby tackle got him sent off.Alan Wiley is the match referee.Leicester manager Nigel Pearson: 'It's great to have so many players available, it keeps the competition for places really keen. The players, to a certain extent, manage themselves by keeping pressure on each other. 'It's a healthy pressure, they are a good group and the chemistry is very very positive. It means that we go into these play-offs with a decent armoury.'Cardiff manager Dave Jones: 'When we cross that white line it'll all be about who plays the best, holds their nerve and gets a little bit of luck. That's the same every week; the only thing that'll be different in these play-off games is the atmosphere which will be electric.'I cut my squad to twenty earlier in the week - eighteen outfield players and two goalkeepers. There were some tough decisions to be made, but we've kept the group together now this week and have worked really hard.'Leicester City v Cardiff CitySunday May 9th, ko 1:15pm.Live on Sky Sports and Sky Sports HDShare |
