Saturday 11th April | Kick-off: 12:30pm | Live on Sky Sports+
Cardiff City return to league action on Saturday afternoon as they welcome Bolton Wanderers to the Cardiff City Stadium, with the match kicking off at 12:30pm and broadcast live on Sky Sports+.
Match Officials
- Referee: Elliot Bell
- Assistant Referees: David Harrison, Robert Hyde
- Fourth Official: Harrison Blair
Barry-Murphy: “A challenge we must relish”
Head Coach Brian Barry-Murphy is expecting a tough test against a Bolton side that have spent the season competing at the top end of the table.
Speaking ahead of the fixture, he said:
“They’re a side that have been present all season at the very top of the table. They’re clearly a strong team that’s recruited a lot of players and has a lot of strength in this division.
“They have a strong team with strikers, and their strengths are obvious to us, so we need to relish that challenge and try to overcome it, and we’ll do everything possible to do that.”
Despite the quality of the opposition, Barry-Murphy’s focus remains firmly on Cardiff’s own objectives, with promotion firmly in sight.
“We must take the key learnings from past games to ensure we’re the better team on Saturday. We can’t hide away from the fact that we’re trying to win promotion, and for us to do that would be an extraordinary achievement.
“We must focus on winning on Saturday. That is my sole focus for the players. The next game is the most important game because it’s all that we can control.”
Team News
Barry-Murphy also provided an update on squad availability ahead of the weekend.
“Calum [Chambers] has had a scan. He is seeing a specialist today, so we should know more about that in the next 24 hours, but he couldn’t continue playing on Monday.
“We will assess Dylan [Lawlor] today and tomorrow. He’s not fit to train on Wednesday, but we’ll take it day by day to see if he’s ready for the weekend.”
There was also positive news regarding Yousef Salech, who has returned to the squad.
“It’s brilliant for him [Yousef Salech] to be back. We’re all very pleased, and he’s clearly a player of the highest quality.”
Match Facts
- Cardiff City have won each of their last two home league games against Bolton Wanderers and will be looking to secure three in succession for just the second time, having previously done so in a three-match run between 1969 and 1973.
- Bolton Wanderers won the reverse fixture 1-0 in October and will be aiming to claim only their second league double over Cardiff City this century, following the 2014–15 season.
- Cardiff have failed to score in each of their last three home league matches (D1 L2). They will be looking to avoid going four home league games without a goal in the third tier for the first time in the club’s history.
- Bolton have won just one of their last eight league games against Welsh opposition (D2 L5), failing to score in seven of those fixtures.
What’s at Stake
With promotion ambitions firmly in focus for the Bluebirds and Bolton arriving with a reputation as one of the division’s strongest sides, Saturday’s lunchtime clash promises to be a compelling contest under the Sky Sports cameras.
