Cardiff v Fulham betting tips: Who grabs the first-leg edge?
Published:The Championship play-offs continue tonight, with Cardiff hosting Fulham in the first-leg in the Welsh capital.
Both sides ended the regular season in good form. Neil Harris’ Bluebirds won each of their final three games to secure a play-off spot, while Scott Parker’s Fulham won three and drew two of their final five.
Fulham did finish eight points above City in the table, but anything can happen in the play-offs, as we saw last night with Swansea grabbing a 1-0 lead at home to Brentford. But who will seize the initiative this evening?
Match Odds
Fulham beat Cardiff 2-0 at Craven Cottage just over a fortnight ago, but our traders make tonight’s hosts narrow favourites at 33/20, with the Cottagers at 17/10.
There’s 2/1 about a draw, and as seen in last night’s clash in Swansea, play-off first-legs can often be cagey affairs – 13/8 says we see under 1.5 goals. A repeat of last night’s 1-0 home win is 6/1.
Talking Tactics
Both sides may go with a 4-2-3-1 variant. For Cardiff, Robert Glatzel is poised to lead the line, with support from Josh Murphy, Lee Tomlin and Junior Hoilett.
For Fulham, Aleksandar Mitrovic will look to cause mischief up top, with Bobby Reid, Anthony Knockaert and Neeskens Kebano in support. Ivan Cavaleiro misses out with a hamstring injury.
Goalscorer Odds
Appropriately, after ending the season as the Championship’s top goalscorer with 26 goals, Mitrovic is 7/2 favourite to score first tonight.
The Serbian netted the opener in Fulham’s 2-0 win over Cardiff earlier this month, and he struck in the 1-1 draw in the Welsh capital back in October. The former Newcastle man is 13/8 anytime.
For the hosts, there’s 11/2 apiece about Callum Paterson, Danny Ward and Glatzel to score first. Hoilett grabbed the opener in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Hull, and the former Blackburn man is 17/2 to do so again.
Match Info
Where: Cardiff City Stadium
When: 19:45
How to watch: Sky Sports Football / Sky Sports Main Event
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication.