Promotion playoff candidates Cardiff City will face off against relegation candidates Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Bluebirds who enter the contest in sixth place will be looking for nothing less than victory in order to strengthen their grip within the top six.
Neil Harris’s side enters the game having won their last outing 2-1 against Derby County.
Leo Tomlin is unlikely to feature for Cardiff after he failed to train on Thursday, according to Wales Online. Following a five month absence, the playmaker started for the club against Derby County last Tuesday. He scored the winner and Harris said on Thursday afternoon that the club will have to assess his fitness.
Long-term injury casualties Isaac Vassell and Greg Cunningham will remain out of action.
Based on recent history, the game could go either way. No side has been particularly dominant over the over. Boro has won 12 out of the last 25 games which the team’s played against each other with Cardiff winning the other 13. Interestingly, none of the last 25 games which the team’s have played against each other ended in a draw.
Britt Assombolonga will be aiming to get onto the scoresheet during the game. If he manages to do that, he will be the only player to have netted more than ten goals during the last four successive Championship seasons.
The reverse fixture which was played at the Cardiff City Stadium in September ended in a 1-0 win for the Bluebirds after Ashley Fletcher scored an early own goal.
