Match Preview | Cardiff City vs. Huddersfield Town
Cardiff City welcome Huddersfield Town to Cardiff City Stadium on Sunday afternoon (30/04), 12pm KO.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | IN THE DUGOUT
Huddersfield Town’s manager is former City boss Neil Warnock, who came out of retirement to be appointed in February this year.
Warnock made the move to the Welsh capital in October 2016, going on to lead the Bluebirds to promotion to the Premier League in the 2017/18 season, becoming the first manager to win eight promotions in the professional leagues.
After departing in 2019, Warnock had a spell at Middlesbrough, taking over from Jonathan Woodgate in June 2020.
Having led Boro to safety, the former City boss went on to break the record for the most games managed in English professional football, with an away fixture at Luton Town being his 1,602nd game.
Warnock returned to the Terriers for a second spell this season and has four wins in 12 games.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | LAST THREE
The Terriers head into this weekend on the back of recording two points from their last three fixtures.
Warnock’s men raced to a two-goal lead at Blackburn Rovers through Matty Pearson and Jack Rudoni, only to concede twice in the second-half to be held to a point.
Facing Swansea City in their next fixture, they fell to a 1-0 defeat, with Ryan Manning scoring the winning goal in the second period.
Their most recent result was a commendable 1-1 draw at Sunderland, coming from behind to earn a point, with Josh Koroma cancelling out Joe Gelhardt’s opener.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | KEY PLAYER
Huddersfield Town made a coup of a signing in January, bringing in goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík on a deal until the end of the season.
The 34-year-old is a league winner with Sparta Prague, Basel and Olympiacos, as well as winning the Europa League with Sevilla in 2020.
Vaclík also has great pedigree at international level, having made 53 caps for Czech Republic.
Since joining the Terriers, the shot-stopper has featured 13 times, keeping three clean sheets.
CLUB CONNECTION | DANNY WARD
This weekend could see the return of striker Danny Ward to Cardiff City Stadium.
The attacker joined the Bluebirds in June 2017 and was a huge hit with the City fans, scoring his first goal in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
His first season at the Club proved to be a remarkable one, as he played a big part in the side’s promotion to the Premier League.
In August 2020, Ward re-joined Huddersfield Town for a second spell, having also represented the Terriers between 2011 and 2015.
So far this season, the striker has netted four league goals, as well as contributing with four assists.
