CARDIFF CITY

MANAGER: NEIL WARNOCK

THE one thing I will say with certainty where Cardiff are concerned is that every team who visits their stadium will be in for a horrible time. Neil Warnock isn’t going to try to win a prize for artistry. He is going to try to keep them in the division any way he can. It was a tactic that Stoke employed to great effect in the early years. We knew that certain teams hated coming to play us and were easily unsettled when the crowd got behind us and the game turned into a battle. It’s going to be interesting to see how the big teams cope in South Wales. If you had been given 10 goes to pick which team would come out of the Championship as runners-up, I don’t believe anyone would have picked Cardiff. They deserve huge credit for claiming back their place in the Premier League after a four-year break. Warnock’s teams are all about hard work, camaraderie and never giving up. They do have some quality in attack but let’s be realistic, if they finish one place above the relegation zone — whether it is by one point or one goal — they will have had an amazing season.

HOW WILL THEY FARE?

They are favourites to go down for a reason so 17th would be incredible.

MAJOR INS

Josh Murphy (Norwich, £10m, below) Bobby Reid (Bristol City, £9m) Greg Cunningham (Preston, £3.5m) Alex Smithies (QPR, £3.5m)

MAJOR OUTS

Matt Kennedy (released) Greg Halford (released) Ben Wilson (released)