Cardiff City have one final weekend of pre-season fixtures before the starting gun sounds for the Championship marathon.
The Bluebirds’ pre-season has been largely positive, having recruited 12 new players and winning three and drawing one of their four matches so far, but most will concede there are still things on which they must improve.
While little can be read into the first four matches of the summer schedule, it is only natural that supporters might look a little closer at the starting XI Steve Morison chooses for the Swindon Town fixture on Saturday afternoon.
Morison and his coaching staff will no doubt want to see their preferred starting XI get as close to a full 90-minute runout as possible at some point
and the final pre-season match with Swindon represents the best opportunity to do just that. Some of Cardiff’s first-team players will be
involved in the second friendly of the weekend, against Hereford FC on Sunday, but one suspects the Bluebirds’ preferred team will be fielded against the Robins.
The hotly-contested spots in midfield is perhaps the most intriguing sub-plot of them all and has been throughout the summer. Cardiff bolstered their options in that department with the signings of Ebou Adams,
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Andy Rinomhota and Romaine Sawyers, while Eli King appears set for a more pronounced role this season if he isn’t shipped out on loan, which looks unlikely as things stand.
However, as pre-season has rumbled on, City’s options have dwindled somewhat. Ebou Adams’ shoulder injury, 10 minutes into his debut outing against Cambridge United,
looked a nasty one and there is a slim-to-none chance of him featuring in the Championship opener with Norwich City on July 30.
