County to play two games at CCS
NEWPORT County have confirmed their Sky Bet League Two fixtures against Bradford City and Leyton Orient will take place at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Despite the continued efforts of Rodney Parade’s groundstaff, the maintenance of the pitch has become more difficult due to the weather conditions and fixture pile-ups in an unprecedented season for County and Dragons Rugby.
The hybrid Rodney Parade surface was also scheduled to be re-laid last summer but the work was put on hold owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
The club has been in dialogue with representatives from the EFL in recent weeks with a view of finding an alternative venue for both games, which will give the Rodney Parade pitch a chance to recover ahead of County’s remaining fixtures of the campaign.
A proposal to move the fixtures against Bradford and Orient, scheduled for Tuesday 9th March and Saturday 20th March respectively, was put forward and given the green-light by an EFL Board yesterday.
The switch of venue will give the Rodney Parade surface some welcome breathing space over the coming weeks, with County’s next home game in Newport set to take place against Scunthorpe United on Saturday 27th March.
Newport County AFC Chairman, Gavin Foxall, said: “We are very grateful to colleagues at the EFL for their support and understanding in these unprecedented times.
“My thanks and appreciation to Ken Choo and all the staff at Cardiff City for accommodating.
“It is a good example of how the football community comes together in challenging circumstances.”
Mark Jones, Managing Director at Dragons Rugby, said: “We have been in dialogue with Newport County AFC and understand the decision they have taken to take two games to Cardiff.
“With three back-to-back home weekends for Dragons in March, this decision will allow us to protect the pitch and aid its recovery before Newport County will return to Rodney Parade at the end of the month.”
CARDIFF City travel north once again to take on Huddersfield Town at The John Smith’s Stadium.
The Bluebirds are now 10 games without a loss under manager Mick McCarthy and are looking to extend that run and keep the pressure on those in the play-off spots above them.
This is all you need to know about the clash...
What time is Huddersfield Town v Cardiff City kick-off?
Huddersfield Town v Cardiff City kicks off at 7.45pm tonight.
Is it on TV?
Yes, the game will be televised live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event, starting at 7pm.
What about live streaming? Cardiff City will not be streaming the game live to viewers in the UK due to broadcasting rights.
You can also follow all the action on the WalesOnline live blog from 5.30pm.
What is the latest team news?
Cardiff City will be without Joe Bennett after the left-back suffered a horrible ACL injury during the midweek win over Derby County.
The Bluebirds defender has been a mainstay all season and his loss will be a big blow. However, it will likely represent a run in the side for academy prospect Joel Bagan.
Lee Tomlin missed this week’s under-23s action due to illness, so he will be unavailable again as he continues his recovery from a groin injury which has kept him out for most of the season.
Jordi Osei-Tutu is due back with the first-team squad next week after recovering from his hamstring problem, too.
Max Watters and Ciaron Brown missed the midweek game with the Rams as they each played a full 90 minutes for the under-23s against Charlton on Monday, but they are now both back in contention.
For Huddersfield, former Bluebirds striker Danny Ward will be missing with a calf injury. He has played a full match just once for the Terriers all season, the 3-0 defeat by Cardiff back in December.
Rolando Aarons (hamstring), Carel Eiting (knee), Jonathan Hogg (calf), Josh Koroma (hamstring), Christopher Schindler (knee) and Harry Toffolo (back) will all also miss the clash.
What are the latest betting odds? Huddersfield Town win - 12/5; Draw - 12/5; Cardiff City win - 23/20(. Odds courtesy of The Pools (correct at time of publishing)
What have the managers said? Huddersfield boss Carlos Corberan:
“Their results have been very good.
“They have a good dynamic with their new coach. Every team decides what way they play, they are very dangerous on the counter-attacks.
“When I watched Cardiff from the beginning I know they had a good squad. We need to be ready for them and I’m aware of where they are in table.
“They will be a threat, there is no doubt.”
Cardiff City boss Mick McCarthy:
“Everybody wants to play, things are good. Long may that continue. But we’ve won nowt yet, that’s for sure.
“There’s no point getting carried away, head in the clouds, everybody gives you a pat on the back and suddenly there’s a knife in their hand.
“I don’t get carried away by that stuff. Nothing nastily, just the way it is.
“Not a chance in this world I’ll be getting carried away. There are a lot of good teams in this league. We’ll just keep pecking away (at the top six).”
Who’s the referee?
Tim Robinson is man in charge. The West Sussex official was in the middle when the Bluebirds won 2-0 at Luton.
His assistants will be Paul
Hodskinson and Andrew Fox, with Leigh Doughty the fourth official.
Match facts
■■In all competitions, Huddersfield are winless in 14 meetings with Cardiff (D4 L10) since a 1-0 victory in the third tier in January 2003 under Mick Wadsworth. ■■Cardiff have won three of their last four league visits to Huddersfield (D1), as many as their previous 33 such trips beforehand (W3 D9 L21). ■■Huddersfield are looking to defeat both Cardiff and Swansea in the same league season for the first time since 1994-95, having beaten Swansea 4-1 in February. ■■Cardiff have won none of their last nine away league games played on a Friday (D4 L5) since a 4-1 win over Blackburn in December 2012. ■■This will be Mick McCarthy’s 1000th career game as a manager, including both club (922 inc. this match) and internationals (78 games).