Preview: Cardiff City vs Peterborough United - prediction, team news, lineups

Cardiff City will get their League One campaign underway when they welcome Peterborough United to the Welsh capital on Saturday.

The Bluebirds have dropped down to the third tier after they finished bottom of the Championship, while Posh managed to preserve their League One status following a tricky campaign.

Match preview

Cardiff endured a forgettable 2024-25 campaign, which saw them use three managers in their unsuccessful bid to remain in the second tier.

Midfielder Aaron Ramsey was handed the reins for the final three games, but he was only able to muster two draws and a defeat as Cardiff finished bottom of the table with 44 points to their name.

Ramsey has since left to resume his playing career in Mexico, paving the way for Cardiff to appoint Brian Barry-Murphy as their new head coach.

Barry-Murphy has previously worked as Rochdale manager, in Manchester City's academy setup and on Leicester City's backroom staff, but while he may be relatively inexperienced as a senior head coach, he will be under pressure to mount a promotion push in Cardiff's first season in the third tier since 2002-03.

The 47-year-old has overseen two wins and three draws in five pre-season matches, including 2-2 scorelines in the final two friendlies against Queens Park Rangers and Notts County.

Cardiff will now be targeting all three points in their first meeting with Peterborough since running out 4-0 winners in a Championship home clash in February 2022.

Peterborough are set to compete in League One for a fourth consecutive season after finishing five points clear of the bottom four last term.

While they managed to avoid relegation, Posh's 14th-placed finish represented a significant drop-off from the playoff appearances of the previous two campaigns.

Darren Ferguson will face another tough task in the 2025-26 campaign, especially as he has seen key players depart, including Kwame Poku, Ricky-Jade Jones, Hector Kyprianou and Emmanuel Fernandez.

The Peterborough boss has at least bolstered the squad with six new additions, recruiting Alex Bass, Vicente Reyes, Sam Hughes, David Okagbue, Brendon Khela, Declan Frith and Kyrell Lisbie.

Posh have had a number of opportunities to look at their new players, having recorded four wins, two draws and two defeats in a busy pre-season schedule.

Peterborough know that they will have to be at their best to pick up a positive result in their season opener, especially as they have lost three of their previous away games against Cardiff.

Cardiff City pre-season form:

D W W D D

Peterborough pre-season form:

W D W W D L

Team News

Cardiff are still waiting to make their first signing of the summer, meaning that Barry-Murphy will have to pick from the players that are still left from last term.

The Bluebirds are unable to call upon defender Calum Chambers, who is suspended after being sent off on the final day of the 2024-25 season.

Perry Ng is set to miss out through injury, but Alex Robertson and Isaak Davies should shake off the issues that they picked up in the recent friendly with Notts County.

As for the visitors, goalkeeper Bass will have to wait to make his Peterborough debut after picking up a foot injury in pre-season.

Bass's injury has led Peterborough to sign Reyes on loan from Norwich City until January, with the Chilean set to make his bow on Saturday.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Swedish forward Gustav Lindgren could be given the nod over Bradley Ihionvien in the battle for the number nine spot.

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:

Alnwick; Kpakio, Fish, Lawlor, Bagan; Wintle, Colwill, Robertson; Willock, Ashford, Salech

Peterborough United possible starting lineup:

Reyes; Dornelly, Wallin, Nevett, Mills; Collins, De Havilland; Hayes, Odoh, Frith; Lundgren

We say: Cardiff City 2-1 Peterborough United

While Cardiff are yet to make a signing this summer, their squad contains a number of players who should thrive at this level, and we think that they will showcase their extra quality to claim a narrow victory in Saturday's curtain-raiser against Peterborough.

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