Derby County v Cardiff City Prediction: Cardiff is sitting at bottom

Derby County will welcome Cardiff City at Pride Park Stadium for Matchday 5 of the English Championship. Cardiff is sitting at the bottom with no wins. Who will win at the end?

Derby County Form

Derby could have gone into the international break on a sour note after losing to Barrow on penalties in the EFL Cup. They did well to respond with an impressive 3-0 win against Bristol City in the Championship, picking six points from four games so far. The way this win has come will only bode well for the Rams into next season, considering also their victories over Chesterfield and Middlesbrough at Pride Park this time around. Despite losing to Blackburn Rovers and Watford, Derby still looks competitive in every game it has played against top sides.

There is that feel of momentum for the newly promoted side, but Paul Warne has to watch himself not getting carried away lest relegation battles set in in his first season back at the second tier.

Predicted Derby County Team Lineup

Zetterstrom, Nyambe, Nelson, Cashin, Elder, Ozoh, Adams, Jackson, Goudmijn, Mendez-Laing, and Yates

Cardiff City form

Cardiff's Erol Bulut admits that a Championship win soon would lift off any job pressure from him, having only had three wins from their last 13 games coming in from the previous season with nine defeats within it. A stalemate against Swansea City over the bank holiday weekend did end their run of defeats, but the 2-0 loss to Middlesbrough before the international break was a harsh reminder of things that need to improve. Very little has gone right for Bulut and his followers since a solid display against Southampton in the EFL Cup second round. This latest match feels pivotal to deciding the course of their season. 

Cardiff City Predicted Lineup

Horvath, Ng, Chambers, Goutas, O'Dowda, Siopis, Robertson, Tanner, Colwill, Willock, and Kanga 

Derby County vs Cardiff City Tips and Picks

Nat Phillips and Marcus Harness both fit for starting selection for Derby after signings for the club from Liverpool and Ipswich Town respectively.

Warne is not expected to make any alterations to the team which so completely outplayed Bristol City in their last outing. Cardiff need checks on the fitness of their defender Jesper Daland, who suffered an ankle injury during their loss to Middlesbrough. Dimitrios Goutas could replace him but Aaron Ramsey misses out having torn his hamstring playing for Wales. Ollie Tanner, Rubin Colwill, and Anwar El Ghazi will all feature in a bid to get in the starting XI in the attacking third. Although Cardiff has gathered only one point away, losing will not be their mood today; Derby is also gaining a boost in confidence after their last few wins, hence an equal match is expected.