ANOTHER IMPORTANT FIXTURE AT THE CCS

Cardiff City return to league action as they host Tom Cleverley's Plymouth Argyle.

Cian Ashford celebrating.

The Opposition:

Plymouth were one of the other sides to get relegated from the Championship alongside The Bluebirds. After a disastrous spell under Wayne Rooney, Miron Muslic took the reigns and almost gave Argyle an outside chance of staying up in the end. Muslic departed for Schalke this summer, with Tom Cleverley being chosen as his successor.

Argyle have seen a massive player turnover with key players such as Adam Randell, Mustapha Bundu, Ryan Hardie and Maksym Taloverov departing, as well as twelve others. Plymouth have been active in recruiting players, adding Jamie Paterson from Coventry City, Lorent Tolaj from Port Vale, Arbim Pepple from Luton Town, Bradley Ibrahim from Hertha Berlin, Brendon Wiredu from Fleetwood Town, Owen Oseni from St. Mirren, Xavier Amaechi from 1. FC Magdeburg, Jack MacKenzie from Aberdeen, Mathis Ross from Galatasaray, Ayman Benarous from Bristol City, Luca Ashby-Hammond from Fulham, Caleb Watts from Exeter City and Alex Mitchell from Charlton Athletic.

Cleverley’s tactics centre on a possession-based, progressive style of play that uses vertical passing, quick combinations, and third-man movements to break lines and dominate the ball. Out of possession, his teams press aggressively with a high defensive line to pin opponents back, while retaining flexibility to shift between three- and four-at-the-back systems depending on the opposition. He also shows strong in-game adaptability, often adjusting formations mid-match and using substitutions—such as introducing pacey, direct attackers—to change momentum and exploit weaknesses.

The Bluebirds:

City come into this on the back of another victory against Cheltenham Town. Cardiff ran out 3-0 winners with goals from Isaak Davies, Calum Chambers and Joel Colwill to see The Bluebirds advance to round three.

This is almost a clash of style, two sides with similar style and philosophies. Cardiff being the home side should be seeking to dominating this one. If City are on it and aggressive as they have been so far, they could cause Argyle many problems.

Opposition Player to Watch:

Xaiver Amaechi in action.

New Argyle signing Xavier Amaechi has impressed since moving to Home Park. The winger has come into his own in recent weeks, getting a goal and an assist so far this season. Amaechi is fast, direct and tricky and could cause Cardiff some problems.

Arsenal is where the journey began for Amaechi, but the winger left The Gunners before making an appearance, joining Hamburg in Germany. Amaechi was loaned out to both Karlsruhe and Bolton before making a permanent departure in the summer of 2023, joining 1. FC Magdeburg. After two seasons at Der Blau, Amaechi joined Plymouth on a permanent deal this summer.

Last Meeting:

Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Cardiff City (2024)

Yousef Salech celebrating

These two sides played out a draw in a relegation six-pointer last season. Cardiff dominated for large spells before a red card changed the momentum of the game.

Yousef Salech gave Cardiff a first half lead, courtesy of a lovely assist from Will Alves. Dimitrios Goutas got sent off for a last-man challenge just seven minutes into the second half. Muhamed Tijani netted an equaliser just after the hour mark to secure a point for the hosts.

Team News:

Cardiff City - Nathan Trott '50/50' for this one. Jak Alnwick back available after recovering from an illness. Alex Robertson, David Turnbull, Eli King and Ollie Tanner remain out.

Plymouth Argyle - Kornel Szucs back available for Argyle, with Cleverley also hopeful of having Brendan Galloway and Xavier Amaechi available. Jamie Paterson, Mathias Ross, Connor Hazard, Jack MacKenzie and Julio Pleguezuelo out for the visitors.

Preferred XI:

GK - Matt Turner

RB - Ronan Kpakio

RCB - Will Fish

LCB - Dylan Lawlor

LB - Joel Bagan

CDM - Ryan Wintle

RCM - Rubin Colwill

LCM - Joel Colwill

RW - Cian Ashford

LW - Chris Willock

ST - Yousef Salech

Score Prediction:

Cardiff City 2-1 Plymouth Argyle

I'm really torn on this one, if Cardiff score early I could see the game playing out similar to last time Argyle were at the CCS. However, I feel like Plymouth have plenty of threats and are only growing each week, it will certainly be a test.

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