South Wales Echo

Worse off than us? The teams Cardiff must target in bid to beat the drop...

- DOMINIC BOOTH Title In Here name.surname@walesonlin­e.co.uk

IT’S amazing just how much a win can do to restore confidence.

Having had to wait eight games for that first victory, Cardiff City had become everyone’s nailed on favourites for relegation, with some even going so far as to suggest the Bluebirds could even break Derby County’s record for the lowest-ever Premier League points tally.

However, the euphoria off the back of Saturday’s triumph has strengthen­ed the belief that City can still defy the critics and cement their place in the Premier League for another season.

Speaking after the 4-2 win over Fulham, a triumphant Neil Warnock insisted there were “four or five clubs” Cardiff could aim to finish above.

Perhaps it’s an ambitious target, but sports writer TOM COLEMAN has had a go at identifyin­g the troubled sides who Cardiff can look to finish above come the end of the campaign.

NEWCASTLE UNITED Current place: 20th They’re in big trouble because:

Where to start. An under-performing squad starved of investment, a manager whose future looks increasing­ly uncertain by the week, and a fanbase in open revolt against the owner.

Newcastle have made selfdestru­ction into something of an art form over the years, but even by their astonishin­g standards, this season has been a car crash.

In contrast, Cardiff are a picture of unity at the moment and can arguably count themselves unlucky not to have got the better of United back in August.

The Magpies are still on the lookout for their first win of the season, and it’s difficult to see exactly where it’s going to come from right now.

When the Bluebirds play them:

Cardiff make their longest away trip of the season on January 19.

HUDDERSFIE­LD TOWN Current place: 19th They’re in big trouble because:

After a narrow, albeit thoroughly admirable, escape from relegation last term, the Terriers are the only other side in the top flight still looking for their first win of the season.

Saturday’s defeat to Liverpool means David Wagner’s side have now gone seven Premier League games without a goal at home, a run that includes a goalless stalemate with the Bluebirds, who again should really have claimed three points against the 10-man Terriers.

Unlike Newcastle, everyone at the club seems to be pulling in the same direction, but given the obvious lack of Premier League class up front it’s difficult to see how they can score the goals needed to stay up.

Cardiff, for all their faults, look a better team.

When the Bluebirds play them:

Cardiff welcome Huddersfie­ld on January 12.

FULHAM Current place: 18th

Put simply, they concede far too many goals.

The Cottagers, who spent a colossal amount of money in the summer, have conceded 12 goals in their last three games, and have only one Premier League win to their name so far.

The lack of defensive solidity means confidence is fragile for this side at the moment, as evidenced by their obviously panicked start at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.

The likes of Andre Schurrle, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ryan Sessegnon offer all the tools to score goals in this league, but all of that will prove irrelevant to survival hopes if they cannot plug the gaps at the back.

They are another team whose manager’s job is reportedly on the line and that can’t really help things right now.

They’re in big trouble because:

The trip to Craven Cottage is currently pencilled in for April 27.

When the Bluebirds play them: SOUTHAMPTO­N Current place: 16th They’re in big trouble because:

There is a feeling in some quarters that not enough improvemen­ts have been made from last season – a campaign that very nearly saw the Saints slide into the Championsh­ip.

Loan striker Danny Ings, who was briefly linked with Cardiff in the summer, has done reasonably well at St Mary’s, netting four goals in all competitio­ns this season.

However, goals are otherwise a big problem. The bore draw with south coast rivals Bournemout­h was Southampto­n’s fourth game on the bounce without scoring.

The last time they endured such a dry spell was back in 2004-05 – a season that eventually resulted in relegation.

When the Bluebirds play them:

Southampto­n are due to arrive at the Cardiff City Stadium on December 8, while the return fixture at Saints’ St Mary’s home is on February 9.

CRYSTAL PALACE Current place: 16th They’re in big trouble because:

would be easy to point to their winless run of four games, but Palace’s big problem has to be their obvious over-reliance on Wilfried Zaha.

When the winger plays, the Eagles look a dangerous propositio­n, but when he’s absent, it looks far more bleak. Indeed, since the start of the 2017/18 season, Palace have lost every single game that Zaha has missed (11).

Many in the Welsh capital are unlikely to have many fond memories of the former Manchester United man after his poor loan spell at Cardiff in 2014, but Warnock would undoubtedl­y love a player of Zaha’s calibre at his disposal.

If they are without him for any significan­t period of time, then Palace have a big problem.

City head to South London on Boxing Day, before welcoming Roy Hodgson’s side to the Cardiff City Stadium for their final home game of the season on May 4.

When the Bluebirds play them:

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