Cardiff City earned direct promotion after finishing second in the Championship standings last season but have an uphill task of retaining their Premier League status.
Neil Warnock’s side were comfortably beaten by Bournemouth in their first game of the season but this weekend, they play at home for the first time and will hope to pick up a positive result.
The Bluebirds take on Newcastle United tomorrow and the Magpies themselves will be itching to pick up their first points of the season after losing to Tottenham on the opening weekend.
Cardiff City – Team News
Cardiff will be boosted by the return of striker Kenneth Zohore who seems to have recovered from a groin strain but are unlikely to rush Aron Gunnarsson who is close to first-team action.
Predicted Cardiff City Lineup (4-3-3)
Defence
Neil Etheridge conceded twice against the Cherries but saved Callum Wilson’s spot-kick to avoid further humiliation. Their backline looked nervy last Saturday but Warnock might still rely on Sean Morrison and Bruno Manga as the central defensive duo.
Lee Peltier and Joe Bennett – their preferred fullback options last season — have been handed first-choice roles and will look to improve against the Magpies.
Midfield
Although the gaffer opted for a 4-1-4-1 set-up at Vitality Stadium keeping veteran defender Sol Bamba as a blocker in front of the back four, he should switch to his favoured 4-3-3 this weekend and deploy Harry Arter, on loan from Bournemouth, at the middle of the park.
Arter found his game-time limited last season but was a first-team regular the season before and maintained a pass success rate of 88.2% which was higher than the likes of Nemanja Matic and David Silva – the superstars of Premier League football. He should line up alongside Joe Ralls who often recognised for his tremendous work rate and box-to-box ability.
Victor Camarasa, the loan recruit from Real Betis, is also a decent option but the versatile Callum Paterson in an advanced midfield role will be a better pick to avail the balance in a three-man midfield.
Attack
Bobby Reid, the summer signing from Bristol City, notched 19 goals last season in Championship and looked lively against Bournemouth with his movement and link-up play. He is likely to lead the line again.
Junior Hoilett, who had previous spells in Premier League with Blackburn Rovers and Queens Park Rangers, redeemed himself under Warnock last season and is set to retain his place on the left wing.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing should be handed another start on the opposite flank.
