Cardiff City continue their preparations for the 2022-23 campaign when they take a trip to the New Meadow Stadium to square off with Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday.
While the hosts are yet to taste victory in pre-season, the Bluebirds have won each of their three friendly outings and will look to keep the juggernaut rolling.
Match preview
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Having kicked off their pre-season with a disappointing goalless draw against amateur side AFC Telford United, Shrewsbury Town were denied their first win since March as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Burnley last Friday.
Jordan Shipley struck in the 46th minute to cancel out Samuel Bastien's first-half opener, but Ne-Jai Tucker and Bobby Thomas found the target to hand the Clarets a comfortable win.
After picking up two draws and losing four of their last six games in League One last term, Steve Cotterill's men have now failed to taste victory in eight straight outings across all competitions — their second longest winless run in 2022 after going nine games without earlier this year.
This poor run has been owing to their struggles at the attacking end of the pitch, where they have scored seven goals since a 1-0 victory over Lincoln City on March 26, while they have shipped 17 in that time.
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Off the back of a disappointing 2021-22 campaign, where they finished 18th in the Championship standings, Cardiff City have shown signs of promise as they prepare for the new campaign.
The Bluebirds kicked off their pre-season campaign with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Cambridge United on July 9 before easing to a 2-0 victory over Newport County three days later.
Cardiff City head into Tuesday's match-up fresh off picking up a third win on the bounce in pre-season as they saw off Cheltenham Town 2-1 at the Whaddon Road Stadium.
After trailing at the beak to Liam Sercombe's 41st-minute opener, Mark Harris converted his penalty in the 59th minute before Max Watters completed the comeback with two minutes left in the game.
Steve Morison's side have now won each of their last four games across all competitions, while they are unbeaten in five outings since ending their run of four consecutive defeats back in April.
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Team News
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Following their underwhelming performance against Burnley, Cotterill could rotate his side on Tuesday, with youngsters like Kade Craig and midfielder Josh Barlow being offered game time.
The duo of Daniel Udoh and Ryan Bowman, who netted 29 goals last term, should lead the Shrewsbury Town attack once again, with new recruit Shipley providing an extra goalscoring threat from midfield.
The Shrews snapped up Bristol City man Taylor Moore on a season-long loan and the 25-year-old could be handed his debut on Tuesday, teaming up with fellow newcomer Julien Da Costa in defence.
Morison continues to bolster his Cardiff City squad ahead of the forthcoming campaign and have completed the signing of 25-year-old forward Sheyi Ojo following the end of his contract at Liverpool.
The Bluebirds have also snapped up West Bromwich Albion defender Cedric Kipre as they look to plug the holes at the defensive end of the pitch, where they struggled to impose themselves last term.
Both players are in line to make their debut on Tuesday, alongside former West Bromwich Albion midfielder Romaine Sawyers, who recently completed a switch to the Cardiff City Stadium.
On the injury front, the visitors will take to the pitch without the services of veteran defender Sean Morrison, who continues his long road to full fitness after suffering an ACL injury back in April.
Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:
Marosi; Pennington, Moore, Da Costa; Dunkley, Bayliss, Leahy, Nurse; Shipley; Bowman, Udoh
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Kipre, McGuinness, Denham, Collins; King, Wintle, Sawyers; Tanner, Crole, Ojo
We say: Shrewsbury Town 1-3 Cardiff City
Cardiff City have enjoyed a solid pre-season run, winning each of their three games so far. Next up is a Shrewsbury Town side who are yet to hit their stride and we are backing the Bluebirds to come out on top once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
