Cardiff City v Newcastle United Betting Tips: Hosts not to be underestimated

This Championship match is between two sides whose campaigns are pretty much over. Cardiff are guaranteed safety whilst Newcastle have secured promotion to the Premier League, although they can still take the title if Brighton slip up.

Cardiff have been a bit inconsistent in the last couple of months and have failed to secure back-to-back wins since mid-February. However, it is also worth noting that they have only lost one of their last five matches. The remainder of this season is about building momentum for a play-off campaign next year.

As you would expect from a Neil Warnock side, Cardiff have been very solid at the back recently and they haven’t conceded in either of their last two matches whilst they have also only conceded two goals in their last five games. Unfortunately for Warnock though, his team’s performance in the final third has been lacklustre with just one goal in their last three matches. Additionally, they have scored more than once on just one occasion in their last six matches.

The Bluebirds’ home form has been absolutely brilliant since the turn of the year with just one league loss at the Cardiff City Stadium in 2017, winning seven of the ten games played, including their last three. Although general goalscoring has been a problem for Cardiff, they have scored a decent number at home recently with 14 in their last six on home turf.

Newcastle secured an immediate run to the Premier League with a 4-1 thrashing of Preston North End, also ending their three-match win-less streak in the process. They do still have a chance of winning the Championship as they are just four points behind with two games to go. However, it is all in Brighton’s hands.

The Toon Army kept up their excellent goal-scoring record on Monday night which means they have now scored 80 goals in 44 games whilst they have also found the back of the net in each of their last six. Defensively though, there are still problems with no clean sheet in their last four, conceding seven – an average of 1.75 per game.

Rafa Benitez’s side have arguably been better on their travels than they have at home this season. They have the best away record in the league with their home record being only the sixth-best. However, the away form has waned slightly of late and they have not won in their last four on the road, scoring just twice and conceding five goals.

Newcastle are the favourites here and, given the league positions, you can see why. However, I am not so sure. After Brighton secured their promotion, we saw them take their foot off the gas in their match against Norwich and we could see a similar situation happen with Newcastle here. Add into the mix that Cardiff will have had two extra days rest going into this match along with their excellent home record, and I think we could see a surprise here. Overall, ‘Cardiff Win/Draw Double Chance’ looks a good bet.

More tips can be found here.