Cardiff City welcome Nottingham Forest to the Welsh capital on Saturday evening, as the Bluebirds host their penultimate home fixture of the 2017/18 campaign...
The fixture sees the Bluebirds host our fifth annual Foundation Day.
Forest make the trip to South Wales following a 2-1 triumph over Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon - their first win in six games.
What to expect from the Reds…
Currently occupying 17th place in the Sky Bet Championship table, Forest have won 14 of their 42 games thus far. Since Aitor Karanka’s arrival at the beginning of January, they’ve tasted victory in four of the Spaniard’s 17 games at the helm. The former European champions are now 11 points clear of the relegation zone and are on course to better their 21st place finish last season.
Everton loanee Kieran Dowell currently tops the goal-scoring charts for his club, netting on 10 occasions this season. The England U21 international has also registered five assists in all competitions during his season-long spell in the Sky Bet Championship.
In the hot seat…
Forest is Karanka’s fourth spell in the dugout - in various capacities - since he retired from playing in 2006. The 44-year-old began his career with the Spanish U16 side in 2008, before being appointed as José Mourinho’s assistant at Real Madrid two years later.
The Basque former defender had his first taste of English football when he succeeded Tony Mowbray as Middlesbrough boss. He guided Boro to the Play-Off Final in 2015, whilst also guiding them to the last eight of the Emirates FA Cup last season, eventually losing out to recently crowned Premier League Champions, Manchester City. Karanka then returned to management in January after a year out, replacing Mark Warburton at the City Ground.
Previous meetings…
The Bluebirds have an impressive record against Saturday’s opponents and are unbeaten in the past eight meetings, winning seven and drawing once over a five-year period.
Our reverse fixture in November saw a Junior Hoilett header and a stunning solo effort from Danny Ward secure a 2-0 victory for the Bluebirds, seeing us then close the gap to four points at the top of the table.
Club connections…
While Greg Halford and Lee Peltier have both turned out for Forest, there are also currently two City players on loan from the City Ground in Neil Warnock’s side. Jamie Ward and Armand Traoré moved to Cardiff City Stadium in January, but both will be absent from Saturday evening’s fixture, as will Bluebird Lee Tomlin who is on loan with the Reds.
Two former City Academy graduates have also worn the Forest jersey. Aaron Ramsey made five appearances whilst on loan from Arsenal before re-joining the Bluebirds later in the 2010/11 season. Chris Gunter also captained Saturday’s opponents in his three-year spell, making 133 appearances.
Other players to play for both clubs in recent years include Chris Burke and Robert Earnshaw.
