Despite a relatively positive mood around the club, Cardiff City head into the weekend with just a single point on the board from their opening three matches, having undergone plenty of change over the summer.
Following their survival last term and Sabri Lamouchi’s exit, Erol Bulut was appointed to lead the Welsh side into the new campaign, and after a busy summer transfer window, they began the Championship season with a tough trip to newly-relegated Leeds United and looked set to come away with all three points from a 2-1 victory, courtesy of first-half debut goals from Josh Bowler and Ike Ugbo.
That was not to be, though, as the Bluebirds were held to a 2-2 draw by a Crysencio Summerville equaliser deep into injury time, before scraping past Colchester United in a penalty shootout in the EFL Cup and falling to a
disappointing home defeat to Queens Park Rangers in their second league outing, with Ugbo’s 78th-minute goal not enough to spark a turnaround after Sinclair Armstrong and Kenneth Paal had found the net for their visitors.
Aiming to bounce back from that setback and record a first Championship win under their new boss, Cardiff most recently faced another tough test away at promotion-hopefuls Leicester City on Saturday.
and they again suffered late disappointment, initially looking set to leave with a commendable point thanks to Aaron Ramsey’s long-range equaliser on the stroke of half time, only for Cesare Casadei to net a 92nd-minute winner to continue the hosts’ perfect start to the term.
While it can certainly be argued that the Bluebirds’ results have not reflected their positive displays thus far, Bulut’s men will certainly be keen to prevent the winless start from growing any further and score a first three-point haul of the campaign on home turf this weekend.
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They would then progress in the EFL Cup with a penalty shootout triumph over Stockport County, after Tyreeq Bakinson’s last-gasp leveller, but the South Yorkshire side’s efforts to carry that into a league win did not go well,
as a trip to Hull City ended in a 4-2 defeat despite going ahead through Juan Delgado, as Ozan Tufan hit an unanswered hat-trick and Aaron Connolly added a fourth for their hosts before Michael Smith netted a late consolation.
Wounded from a more disappointing result than in their curtain-raiser, the Owls then returned to Hillsborough last weekend to host Preston North End, but pressure has continued to build as they again came away empty-handed, with Liam Lindsay’s headed goal early in the second half being the only difference in a 1-0 away win.
With confidence in the Owls camp bound to have quickly dropped after last season’s promotion, they will be desperate to quickly correct their form and avoid being cut adrift, starting with what would be an important victory on their travels this weekend
