Cardiff City vs Leeds United. Sky Bet Championship.
Cardiff City StadiumAttendance27,160.
Tuesday 26 September 2017 18:50, UK
Cardiff defender Sol Bamba is set to return against his former club Leeds as third hosts top in the Sky Bet Championship, live on Sky Sports Football.
Bamba was rested for the weekend win at Sunderland but is set to replace Bruno Manga for the visit of the league leaders. Full-back Lee Peltier should overcome a minor knock to return, while winger Junior Hoilett is also expected to start.
Omar Bogle will continue to deputise for virus victim Danny Ward on the bench if he fails to recover in time.
Leeds defender Pontus Jansson will return to the squad after being left out for Saturday's home win against Ipswich. Jansson was rested as a precaution after missing the Carabao Cup win at Burnley due to a hamstring strain but could be back alongside Liam Cooper in central defence.
Head coach Thomas Christiansen has no new injury or suspension problems but may make changes, with fit-again on-loan Everton defender Matthew Pennington, Gaetano Berardi, Stuart Dallas and Kemar Roofe all in contention. Striker Caleb Ekuban, who recently had foot surgery, remains the only absentee.
Cardiff have lost their last two home league games against Leeds - more than they'd lost in their previous 22 home games against the Whites (1).
Since he left his job as Leeds boss in April 2013, Neil Warnock has won all three league meetings against his former side, including a 2-0 win at Elland Road last season with Cardiff.
Warnock's last two home Championship defeats on a Tuesday came as Leeds boss - he lost 7-3 to Nottingham Forest in March 2012 and 3-2 to Hull in September 2012, but hasn't lost any since (W6 D3).
None of Leeds' last 48 away matches in all competitions have ended goalless - should there be a goal in this game, it'd equal their second longest run without an away nil-nil in their history (49 games between November 2007 and August 2009).
The Whites have won six of their first nine league games of a season in the top two tiers of English football for the first time since 1999/2000 in the Premier League (also won six).
Is it going to be an early season marker for who might get into the top two by the end? It's probably a bit early for that but it's certainly a barometer for the ambitions of these sides.
Both sides had good wins on Saturday and will be confident heading into this game. Cardiff boss Neil Warnock will fancy getting one over on his old side and I fancy an entertaining draw.
Prutton predicts: 2-2 with Pierre-Michel Lasogga to score first (75/1 with Sky Bet)
