Match Preview | Cardiff City vs. West Bromwich Albion
Cardiff City welcome West Bromwich Albion to Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday evening, 7.45pm KO.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | CURRENT FORM
The Baggies are currently eighth on the Sky Bet Championship table, with 10 points recorded in their last six fixtures.
Their record sees them place tenth in the division’s form table, with three wins, one draw and two defeats.
Carlos Corberán’s side have an impressive record at the Hawthorns this season, winning ten and recording 35 points from their 19 home fixtures, which is the fifth best record in the division.
However, the Baggies have struggled away from home this campaign, winning just five from 17 games on their travels, a record which sees them place 15th in the away table.
OPPOSITION FOCUS | KEY PLAYERS
West Bromwich Albion’s top scorer is summer signing Brandon Thomas-Asante, who has netted seven goals in 25 appearances since signing from Salford City.
The attacker averages a goal every 175 minutes, with a shot accuracy of 53%. However, Thomas-Asante strained his hamstring earlier this month and has missed the Baggies’ last three games.
Stepping up in his place has been American striker Daryl Dike, who made the move to the Hawthorns in January 2022, having previously had a successful loan spell at Barnsley.
Dike has six goals to his tally so far this campaign and netted in recent wins over Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic.
Another signing who has made an impression this season is midfielder John Swift, who moved from Reading in the summer.
Swift scored the winner from the penalty spot in their win over Huddersfield Town, which was his fifth goal of the season.
HEAD-TO-HEAD | CITY’S RECORD
The first meeting between the Bluebirds and the Baggies was back in October 1921, with the two sides competing in Division One.
Fred Keenor and Jimmy Gill were both on the scoresheet for City, as the game ended 2-2.
Since then, the Bluebirds have defeated the Baggies on 18 occasions, with 17 fixtures ending in a draw and West Brom winning 24.
The most recent meeting was back in August at the Hawthorns, in which a resolute defensive performance from City was enough to claim a point in a goalless draw.
CLUB CONNECTION | SEMI AJAYI
Wednesday evening could see the Bluebirds face off against former defender Semi Ajayi.
The Nigerian international, who has 15 caps for his country, had a spell at City between 2015 and 2017 after making his loan move from Arsenal permanent.
During his time in the Welsh capital, Ajayi had loan spells at Wimbledon, Crewe Alexandra and Rotherham United, joining the latter in 2017.
Since leaving CCS, the defender has impressed, making 81 league appearances for the Millers prior to his move to the Baggies.
Ajayi has continued to make a mark since signing for West Brom, notably scoring his first Premier League goal in a 1-1 draw at Anfield back in December 2020.
