Match Preview | Cardiff City vs. Wycombe Wanderers
City’s penultimate home fixture of the 2020/21 campaign sees Wycombe Wanderers head to Cardiff City Stadium on April 24th. The Bluebirds will face the Chairboys on Saturday afternoon, with a 3pm kick off in the Welsh capital.
How do I watch the match?
City fans anywhere in the world can watch Saturday’s clash with Wycombe Wanderers live on Cardiff City TV!
Former Bluebirds captain and Club legend Jason Perry will be joining us on co-comms this weekend.
A Cardiff City TV Match Pass can be purchased now for just £10 in the UK & Ireland. International Match Passes are available for just £7 per game, or £20 a month.
Supporters in the UK & Ireland can also purchase a Commentary Pass for £5 a month, or for just £10 for the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign.
How can I purchase the matchday programme?
There are two ways to get hold of the Cardiff City vs. Wycombe Wanderers matchday programme.
The Bluebird – edition 22 for 2020/21, featuring PFA Community Player of the Year for the Championship, Will Vaulks, as cover star and feature interview, can be ordered and delivered in its traditional print format from Cardiff City FC SuperStore. Click here to buy your copy!
The Bluebird is now available digitally as well as in its traditional print format. The Wycombe Wanderers edition will be available to digitally download from 5pm on Friday, April 23rd.
Digital copies of The Bluebird can be purchased before each game for £1.99 per edition.
To download the MatchDayInfo App click on the links below and search ‘Cardiff City’:
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Opposition Focus: Season so far
The Chairboys defied the odds to reach the Championship last season, defeating Oxford United at Wembley to win the League One Play-Off Final and earn promotion to the second tier. With just three matches remaining of the campaign, Wycombe are determined to cause another upset in order to preserve their divisional status and avoid relegation at the first attempt. Currently sitting at the foot of the table, Wanderers have 37 points from their 43 matches, six points behind 21st place Derby County with nine left to play for.
Gareth Ainsworth’s side have occupied a place in the relegation zone since the opening weekend of the season. Furthermore, Wycombe have been sitting in 24th place since mid-December. With the final phase of the season in full swing, the Chairboys are enjoying a strong vein of recent form, with the aim of pulling off an unlikely escape from the drop.
Wanderers have won four of their previous eight matches to set up a nail-biting season finale, with a further two draws and two defeats in that time. A pair of 1-0 home victories over Preston North End and Blackburn Rovers was followed by a resounding 3-0 win on the road over fellow relegation candidates Rotherham United. Wycombe have picked up another two important results during the past seven days, earning a 2-2 draw with Swansea City last weekend, before an injury-time penalty from Adebayo Akinfenwa sealed a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bristol City on Wednesday evening, keeping the Chairboys’ survival hopes alive.
Opposition Focus: Ones to watch
Uche Ikpeazu was Gareth Ainsworth’s first signing of the 2020/21 season, joining Wycombe from Hearts back in August. The striker, who previously enjoyed a prolific spell with Cambridge United, has led the line for Wanderers on 28 occasions this term, and has not missed a league fixture since the turn of the year. Ikpeazu is the club’s top scorer for the campaign with five goals to his name, including the Chairboys’ equaliser during their 2-1 victory over Bristol City last time out. The 26-year-old has also provided three assists this term, setting up two goals in his last four matches.
Fred Onyedinma began his career at Millwall, breaking into the Lions’ first team under former Bluebirds boss Neil Harris. The winger enjoyed two loan spells at Adams Park, in the 2014/15 and 2018/19 campaigns, before moving to Wycombe on a permanent basis in July 2019. Aged 24, Onyedinma has scored on four occasions this season, with two Championship goals and a further two strikes in the Emirates FA Cup. Despite predominantly playing on the right flank, the two-time League One Play-Off Final winner has often been deployed at left-back this term.
Jack Grimmer has made 38 Championship appearances for the Chairboys this season, cementing his place at right-back within Wanderers’ starting lineup. The Scot, who began his career with Aberdeen, moved to Adams Park from Coventry City in 2019, having helped the Sky Blues earn promotion to the third tier the previous year. Grimmer has been a consistent performer for Wycombe this season, helping his defensive colleagues to keep ten clean sheets whilst providing one assist at the other end of the pitch.
Opposition Focus: Club connections
Saturday’s fixture will be Wycombe’s first visit to Cardiff City Stadium, and their first trip to the Welsh capital since 2002. The Bluebirds faced the Chairboys in a Second Division match at Ninian Park on that occasion, and it was Lennie Lawrence’s side who came out on top. The only goal of the game was scored by City skipper Graham Kavanagh, who latched onto the ball and fired into the corner of the net to give the Bluebirds a 1-0 win.
At the end of that season, City would famously go on to defeat Queens Park Rangers in the Second Division Play-Off Final, with Andy Campbell scoring the all-important goal at the Millennium Stadium. Amongst the victorious Bluebirds’ squad was current Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth, who had arrived at Ninian Park in March 2003 to assist our promotion push. Ainsworth made nine appearances for the club during the final months of the campaign, and joined defeated finalists QPR at the end of his short-term contract in South Wales.
Several other players have represented both clubs in recent years, with Kadeem Harris making the direct move from Adams Park to Cardiff City Stadium in January 2012. The winger made his Wycombe debut in December 2009, becoming their youngest-ever League player at the time (a record which was later broken by Jordon Ibe). Harris made 79 appearances for the Bluebirds in total, scoring seven times, including a memorable late goal in our 4-2 victory over Fulham in the 2018/19 Premier League campaign.
Joe Jacobson, Wycombe's key man from set pieces, came through the Bluebirds Academy. Joe, who has spent the last six years with Wycombe, made his first team debut in 2006 for City. The 34-year-old has scored three Championship goals this season, but sensibly stepped aside in midweek from his usual penalty duties after receiving a knock, with Akinfenwa netting that important winner.
