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Cardiff City's winning run to continue

Cardiff City's winning run to continue

Cardiff City are the hottest team in the Championship. The Bluebirds have not dropped out of the top four all season, but only recently has the team made a sustained move toward first place.

Cardiff's incredible form has coincided with the near collapse of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves once unassailable lead has now been dwindled to just three points. Cardiff could find themselves level on points after Tuesday night, but the Bluebirds can't take their eyes off of this week's opponents Brentford.

If there was an Achilles heel to Cardiff this term, it would be the team's away form. The side are sixth in the table away from home. Neil Warnock's team has only secured 28 of 51 points away from Wales; and five of Cardiff's seven losses have been on the road. If there was an opportunity to drop points, Tuesday night at Brentford would be it.

Warnock's team is undefeated in their last 10 games. Eight of those fixtures have ended in Cardiff victories. The team has tallied 19 goals during that time span while allowing five goals. Bluebirds goalkeeper Neil Etheridge has kept 16 clean sheets this term. The last time the two sides met, Etheridge kept Brentford out of his goal, as Cardiff won 2-0. Brentford's hot and cold form could see the Cardiff No. 1 keep another shutout in midweek.

Consistency has been Brentford's biggest problem this season, and it is the reason the Bees will end the term without cracking the top six.

The good news is Brentford have won seven of 17 games at home this term, and only two games have ended in defeat. The Bees are a tremendous +13 at home. Two of the team's last three matches at Griffin Park have ended without a win, however.

Brentford's leading goal scorer Ollie Watkins has tallied 10 goals this term. Watkins has scored three goals in his last four matches and comes into Tuesday night in good form. The 22-year-old may be on his way to another club after this term, and he will want to impress in Tuesday night's big match.

Cardiff's goal scoring has come by committee this season. Currently, Junior Hoilett leads the team in scoring with eight goals. Fifteen players, in all, have scored for Cardiff this term, and the team's next goal could come from anyone as Hoilett hasn't scored in his last six matches. Brentford have allowed just 42 goals this season and starve opponents of the ball by keeping 55.2% possession per game. Hoilett's goal drought could continue.

Despite Brentford's great home form and near invincibility at Griffin Park, Cardiff are on a mission for automatic promotion. The Bluebirds should get another win and as the side continue to reel in league leaders Wolverhampton in the final weeks of the Championship season.

Championship Regular Season
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Leicester City 97 45 31 4 10 50
2
Ipswich Town 93 45 27 12 6 33
3
Leeds United 90 45 27 9 9 39
4
Southampton 84 45 25 9 11 23
5
Norwich City 73 45 21 10 14 16
6
West Bromwich 72 45 20 12 13 20
7
Hull City 70 45 19 13 13 9
8
Middlesbrough 66 45 19 9 17 7
9
Coventry City 64 45 17 13 15 12
10
Preston North End 63 45 18 9 18 -8
11
Bristol City 62 45 17 11 17 6
12
Cardiff City 62 45 19 5 21 -14
13
Swansea City 57 45 15 12 18 -5
14
Watford 56 45 13 17 15 2
15
Sunderland 56 45 16 8 21 0
16
Millwall 56 45 15 11 19 -11
17
QPR 53 45 14 11 20 -12
18
Stoke City 53 45 14 11 20 -15
19
Blackburn Rovers 50 45 13 11 21 -16
20
Sheffield Wednesday 50 45 14 8 23 -26
21
Plymouth Argyle 48 45 12 12 21 -12
22
Birmingham City 47 45 12 11 22 -16
23
Huddersfield 45 45 9 18 18 -27
24
Rotherham 24 45 4 12 29 -55

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