Preview: Cardiff City vs Doncaster Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to extend their lead at the top of the League One table with a fifth straight victory, Cardiff City will welcome Doncaster Rovers to the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts moved four points clear with a midweek triumph, while their visitors sit 19th after a home defeat.

Match preview

Cardiff City head into the weekend in search of a fifth straight victory to strengthen their standing as League One frontrunners.

After suffering relegation last time around and turning to Brian Barry-Murphy over the summer, they have enjoyed a strong start to their first third-tier campaign since 2002-03, currently leading the way having amassed 38 points in their first 18 outings.

The Bluebirds have shown their quality at both ends of the pitch, scoring a league-high tally of 32 goals thus far while only two sides have conceded fewer than the 17 they have allowed.

After the most recent of their four league defeats in early November, Barry-Murphy's men now find themselves in a four-match winning run, firstly seeing off Northampton Town, Mansfield Town and Huddersfield Town, scoring three goals in each game, alongside an EFL Trophy exit to AFC Wimbledon.

Now on the back of a trip to fellow promotion-chasers Stevenage, in which the Bluebirds again prevailed thanks to a solitary Callum Robinson goal five minutes from time, Cardiff City find themselves four points clear of second and third spots in League One and will aim to build on that lead further with a fifth straight triumph on Saturday.

They meet a visiting side fighting at the opposite end of the table in the midst of a poor run of form.

The 2025-26 season is also Doncaster Rovers' first back in League One after winning promotion last time around, and after an encouraging start, they hit a dismal patch in mid-September.

Grant McCann's side would drop from the top half towards the relegation zone as a nine-match run produced just two points and seven defeats, conceding 18 goals along the way.

They did look to have turned a corner with a draw against high-flying Stevenage and a 2-1 victory over Peterborough United to end the winless streak, but they failed to build on that in midweek, losing 2-0 at home to Stockport County as Ben Osborn and Kyle Wootton scored in the second half for the visitors.

Now sitting 19th in England's third tier, just two places and three points above the relegation zone as a result of their slump, Doncaster Rovers will be desperate to take a major scalp and kickstart a climb back up the table on Saturday.

Cardiff City League One form:

LLWWWW

Cardiff City form (all competitions):

WWWLWW

Doncaster Rovers League One form:

DLLDWL

Doncaster Rovers form (all competitions):

LDWWWL

Team News

Cardiff City will remain without defender Gabriel Osho, midfielder Rubin Colwill and winger Ollie Tanner on Saturday due to ongoing injuries.

Callum Robinson has a claim to come into the attack from the start, after netting the winner off the bench on Tuesday, while Isaak Davies and Omari Kellyman will also battle for attacking starts.

Yousef Salech will continue to lead the line, though, having moved onto nine league goals for the season with a brace in last week's 3-2 win over Huddersfield, while Joel Colwill, Alex Robertson and Ryan Wintle should again line up in the centre.

Doncaster Rovers are unable to call on defender Matty Pearson and attacker Toyosi Olusanya, as they remain confined to the treatment room.

They also head to Wales without midfielder George Broadbent, who is suspended after receiving a fifth league yellow card of the season in midweek, meaning Ben Close may join captain Owen Bailey in the engine room.

Harry Clifton and Brandon Hanlan will also compete for spots at the top end of the pitch, after Luke Molyneux, Charlie Crew and Jordan Gibson supported Billy Sharp in Tuesday's defeat to Stockport.

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:

Trott; Ng, Fish, Chambers, Bagan; Robertson, Wintle; Robinson, Colwill, Willock; Salech

Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:

Lo-Tutala; Sterry, O'Riordan, McGrath, Senior; Close, Bailey; Molyneux, Clifton, Gibson; Hanlan

We say: Cardiff City 3-1 Doncaster Rovers

Given the contrasting form of the two sides, with the visitors slipping towards the drop zone and Cardiff City finding a rhythm and showing their quality, we can only envisage a comfortable home win on Saturday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.