CARDIFF BACK IN LEAGUE ACTION

ccfcinsider
Sep 26
2 min read

Updated: Sep 27

Cardiff City are back in league action as they travel to face Ryan Lowe's Wigan Athletic.

Cardiff City Head Coach Brian Barry-Murphy.

The Opposition:

After a slow start to the 24/25 season under Shaun Maloney, The Latics replaced the Irishman with Ryan Lowe who guided Wigan to a 15th place finish.

The Latics have been active over the summer as they look to return to the Championship. Wigan have added Ollie Cooper from Swansea City, Paul Mullin from Wrexham, Dara Costelloe from Burnley, Morgan Fox from QPR, Fraser Murray from Kilmarnock, Christian Saydee from Portsmouth, Toby Savin from Shrewsbury, Callum Wright from Plymouth Argyle, Ryan Trevitt from Brentford, Raphael Borges Rodrigues from Coventry City and Isaac Mabaya from Liverpool.

Lowe’s tactics are built around a 3-5-2 formation, focusing on wing-backs for width, quick transitions, and central overloads to dominate possession. His teams aim to play attacking, front-foot football with fluid movement and aggressive pressing out of possession.

The Bluebirds:

Cardiff come into this one on the back of an impressive victory against Premier League side Burnley. Joel Colwill and Callum Robinson netted quick succession in the first half, despite a second half consolation from Zian Flemming, City advanced to the Fourth Round.

A Brian Barry-Murphy side could counter Lowe and Wigan by keeping the ball, pulling the wing-backs out, and attacking the empty wide spaces quickly. Someone like Isaak Davies could be essential to doing this.

Opposition Player to Watch:

Fraser Murray has had an excellent start to life at The Latics after his summer move from Kilmarnock. Murray is a hard-working left wing-back who links play well and supports attacks with his intelligence.

Murray came through the ranks at Hibernian. The Scotsman enjoyed a loan spell at Dunfermline Athletic before a permanent move to Kilmarnock in the summer of 2021. After four years at Killie, Murray completed the move to Wigan Athletic, where he has netted four and assisted one in his first ten games at The Latics.

Last Meeting:

Cardiff City 1-1 Wigan Athletic (2023)

This fixture was a significant one in 2023. The game saw Kolo Toure pick up his only point as Latics manager and also lead to the sacking of Mark Hudson.

Cardiff took the lead late on as Callum O'Dowda dispatched from inside the box, before Will Keane equalised in the 96th minute to secure a late point for Wigan.

Team News:

Cardiff City - Late decision to be made on Dylan Lawlor. Ronan Kpakio, Ollie Tanner and Eli King remain out injured.

Wigan Athletic - Christian Saydee back available after serving suspension. Late decision to be made on Jason Kerr.

Preferred XI:

GK - Nathan Trott

RB - Perry Ng

RCB - Will Fish

LCB - Gabriel Osho

LB - Joel Bagan

CDM - Ryan Wintle

RCM - Rubin Colwill

LCM - Joel Colwill