Match Preview | West Bromwich Albion vs. Cardiff City
The Bluebirds open 2022 with a trip to the Midlands.
City's first match of the year, against West Bromwich Albion, will take place on Sunday, January 2nd, 2022 - 2pm KO.
Cardiff City TV options
Cardiff City TV's live coverage of our match against West Bromwich Albion will be available to watch for supporters worldwide!
With the fixture taking place midweek, Cardiff City TV will be able to broadcast the match domestically as well as internationally.
Opposition Focus | Season so far
West Bromwich Albion have played 24 times in the Championship this season - and currently sit fourth in the table, with 41 points. The Baggies, coached by Valérien Ismaël, have won 11, drawn eight and lost five of their league matches thus far this term.
They are four points off Fulham, who currently occupy the second automatic promotion spot in the second tier, although the Whites do currently have a game-in-hand. Last time out, the Baggies were beaten by in-form Derby County away from home, on December 27th, 2021.
Head coach Ismaël left Barnsley in the summer to take the job at the Hawthorns, having performed above all expectations at his former team in guiding them to a Play-Off spot in 2020/21.
Opposition Focus: Ones to watch
Alex Mowatt followed Ismaël to West Bromwich Albion from Barnsley in the summer. The midfielder has started 18 times for the Baggies in 2021/22 and scored on three occasions, including a remarkable strike when the two sides met at CCS earlier in the campaign.
Six players have started in more league matches than Mowatt since he arrived at Albion. Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has only missed one game all season, as have defenders Conor Townsend, Kyle Bartley and Darnell Furlong. Jake Livermore and Karlan Grant have played a key part for Ismaël, with Grant top scorer with nine league efforts from 23 matches.
Grady Diangana, Jordan Hugill, Matt Phillips & Callum Robinson have all rotated in the attacking positions for WBA this term. Whether starting the match or being used off the subs bench, all four have been relied upon to make an impact. One player familiar to City supporters who is less likely to be involved is former forward Kenneth Zohore, who has been restricted to just two sub appearances in the league during the first half of the campaign.
Support in the striker position has already been acquired, with West Bromwich Albion announcing the signing of forward Daryl Dike. The 21-year-old scored nine goals in 19 Championship matches for Barnsley under Ismaël's leadership 2020/21. Dike isn't expected to feature against City, with his new boss earmarking their fixture with QPR on January 15th as a possible first appearance. He joins the Club from Orlando City on a four-and-a-half year contract.
