Cardiff vs Southampton Prediction & Betting Tips (28 August)

Present in the Championship since 2019, Cardiff are coming out of a relatively anonymous season which ended in 12th place in the standings. With 11 units out of 6th place and 12 ahead of the red zone, the Welsh vegetated in the soft underbelly. They aim to get involved in the fight for the accession play-offs this season but the start of the championship is proving worrying. Bottom of the Championship, Cardiff first lost to Sunderland 0-2 and Burnley 5-0 before taking a point at Swansea last weekend 1-1. For their entry into this EFL Cup, Erol Bulut's men dominated Bristol Rovers 2-0 at home.

Relegated from the elite in 2023, Southampton only needed one season to regain the Premier League. Indeed, the Saints finished in 4th place in the Championship before dominating West Bromwich then Leeds during the accession play-offs. Logically expected in the fight not to go down this season, they will have to redouble their efforts in the Premier League. Without really deserving, Southampton still lost their first two matches played at Newcastle 1-0 and against Nottingham Forest last weekend 0-1. 

This summer, Cardiff were forced to let defender McGuiness (Luton Town) leave. This is the main departure to mention. On the other hand, the leaders grabbed defenders Daland (Cercle Bruges), Fish (Man United) and Chambers (Aston Villa), midfielder Robertson (Man City), wingers Willock (QPR) and El Ghazi (Mainz) as well as striker Kanga (Hertha Berlin). For this meeting, it should be noted the defections of Collins (defender), Turnbull (midfielder), Etete, Davies and Tsunoda (attackers). During the first 3 days of the Championship, Cardiff only scored one goal. The forefront of the attack could still be occupied by the rookie Kanga (12 goals with Standard de Liège last year). For Southampton, attackers Che Adams (Torino) and Mara (Strasbourg) left this summer. This is also the case for defenders Caleta-Car (Lyon), Lyanco (Atlético-MG) and Perraud (Betis Sevilla).

The Saints, on the other hand, were very active in terms of arrivals. We can highlight the recruitments of defenders Harwood-Bellis (Man City), Sugarawa (AZ Alkmaar), Edwards (Peterborough), Wood (Swansea) and Taylor (Burnley), midfielders Downes (West Ham), Mateus Fernandes (Sporting) and Lallana (Brighton) and attackers Brereton Diaz (Villarreal) and Archer (Aston Villa). Goalkeeper No. 1 Bazunu is forced to withdraw again this week. Added to this are the uncertainties surrounding the participations of Larios (defender), Sulemana, Lallana (midfielders) and Stewart (attacker). Substitute during the first 2 days of the Premier League, Archer could this time start up front.