Preview: Cardiff City vs Northampton Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Cardiff City are set to host Northampton Town in the Welsh capital this Saturday afternoon in League One, with neither having anything to play for in the final two games of the season except pride.

The hosts have already confirmed their promotion to the Championship, while the visitors already know they have suffered relegation and will be playing in League Two next season.

Match preview

Cardiff come into this game sitting second in League One but unable to win the title in their last two games of the campaign and having already confirmed their promotion to the Championship.

So, the hosts have very little to play for, with the only option being to put on a show for their supporters, or at least that would be the hope of all those in attendance on Saturday.

Cardiff have lost just two of their home league games played on a Saturday this season, netting 2.3 goals on average across those fixtures, so fans may be expecting to be entertained when they travel to the stadium.

The Bluebirds have won four of their five league games against Northampton Town in the 2000s, as many victories as across their prior 13 against the Cobblers combined.

Brian Barry-Murphy’s side have already begun their procession to the Championship with their victory over Port Vale and, in the process, relegating the visitors on Wednesday.

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Northampton are rooted to the bottom of the division as they enter this weekend and have already had it confirmed they will be playing in League Two next season.

The Cobblers have lost their last nine fixtures across all competitions and so will be aiming to find the right formula to grab a victory before their campaign finishes with only three games to do so.

This is the visitors’ last away game this season, and so they will be hopeful the travelling contingent are strong to help inspire them to only a fourth victory on the road this campaign.

After winning their last away league game against Cardiff 2-1 in August 2002, Northampton will be looking for back-to-back victories on the road against their Welsh opponents for the first time.

The Cobblers have netted just 36 goals across their 43 League One matches so far this season, their joint-lowest tally at this stage of an EFL campaign for Northampton alongside 1972-73 and 2013-14, so there may be a willingness to throw caution to the wind to improve this record.

Cardiff City League One form:

Northampton Town League One form:

Team News

© Imago

Cardiff are set to be without Calum Chambers, who has a wrist injury, while Eli King has a cruciate ligament tear, meaning they will miss the game.

The hosts will also be sweating about the fitness of Omari Kellyman and Callum Robinson, who both suffered injuries in their victory over Port Vale with the latter being taken off.

Meanwhile, the only fresh injury concern for Northampton coming into this fixture is Nesta Guinness-Walker, who left the field last weekend in their loss to Doncaster Rovers, and so it is likely he will miss this fixture.

The visitors will need Tom Eaves in form for this game, as the striker has been their bright spark this season up top, and he may need to add to his tally of eight league goals this season to help them secure three points.

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:

Trott; Kpakio, Osho, Lawlor, Scanlon; Robertson, J. Colwill, R. Colwill, Turnbull, Willock; Salech

Northampton Town possible starting lineup:

Burge; Burroughs, Dyche, Guthrie, McAdam; Jacobs, Campbell, McGeehan, Fornah; Eaves, Hoskins

We say: Cardiff City 2-0 Northampton Town

Cardiff, while they may be planning for the next season, should still have too much quality for their opposition, who have nothing to play for except pride.

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