Preview:Cardiff City vs Newport County - prediction, team news, lineups

Cardiff City will welcome fellow Welsh side Newport County to the Cardiff City Stadium for Tuesday's EFL Trophy clash.

The League One hosts will be targeting back-to-back victories, while the fourth-tier side will be desperate to claim their first win since August 9.

Match preview

Cardiff's ultimate goal for the season is to secure an immediate return to the Championship after suffering relegation last term.

The Bluebirds occupy third place and are one point adrift of second spot after winning seven, drawing and losing two of their 11 League One matches.

After finishing September with a disappointing loss against Burton Albion, Cardiff got their promotion bid back on track with a thrilling 4-3 home victory over Leyton Orient, which came courtesy of a Callum Robinson brace and goals from Dylan Lawlor and Yousef Salech.

The Bluebirds will now put their league campaign on pause to turn their focus to the EFL Trophy, and while the competition may not be their priority, they would surely love to become the first Welsh team to win it since their bitter rivals Swansea City clinched the silverware in 2006.

Brian Barry-Murphy's are sitting alongside Arsenal Under-21s in the top two after claiming a narrow 1-0 victory in last month's group opener against Exeter City.

They should fancy their chances of picking up another win on Tuesday, having won six of their eight competitive home games this season, while scoring at least three goals in four of those victories.

Newport, meanwhile, are languishing at the bottom of the EFL after winning one, drawing two and losing eight of their 11 matches.

In fact, David Hughes's side have lost 10 of their last 11 competitive matches since beating Crawley Town on the second day of the League Two season.

Their current four-game losing run includes a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal Under-21s in their opening match of the EFL Trophy, leaving them with work to do in their remaining two group games against Newport and Exeter.

The Exiles followed that EFL Trophy defeat with a heavy 4-1 loss against Chesterfield Town, before they fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat in Saturday's home clash with Swindon Town.

Ollie Palmer's winner at the weekend extended Newport's wait for their first clean sheet of the season, and with the second-worst defensive record in League Two, they will have to shore up their backline if they are to trouble Cardiff in their first competitive head-to-head meetings in April 1988.

A failure to secure all three points would surely leave the Exiles on the brink of a third consecutive group stage exit in the EFL Trophy.

Cardiff City EFL Trophy form:

Cardiff City form (all competitions):

W L W W L W

Newport County EFL Trophy form:

Newport County form (all competitions):

L D L L L L

Team News

Cardiff are unable to call upon long-term absentees Eli King and Ollie Tanner, who are ruled out with knee and ankle injuries respectively.

Defender Perry Ng is unlikely to feature after missing Saturday's win over Leyton Orient with a hamstring problem.

Midfielder Cian Ashford will miss the game through suspension after being dismissed in the group opener against Exeter.

As for the visitors, they are expected to be without defender Liam Shephard and midfielder Matt Smith.

Goalkeeper Jordan Wright is set to replace Nik Tzanev after playing the first group match against Arsenal Under-21s.

Jaden Warner, Cameron Antwi, Michael Reindorf, and Bobby Kamwa could all feature if Hughes opts to make changes for the midweek fixture.

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:

Turner; Kpakio, Chambers, Fish, Giles; Turnbull, Mafico, Kellyman; Nyakuhwa, Davies, Salech

Newport County possible starting lineup:

Wright; Ogunneye, Warner, Clarke, Davies; Whitmore, Antwi, Braybrooke; Kamwa, Reindorf, Opoku

We say: Cardiff City 2-0 Newport County

While both teams are likely to make changes for the EFL Trophy clash, Cardiff should still have the extra quality required to get the better of a team in a league below them, especially as the visitors have lost three of their last four away matches.

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