U21 Match Preview | AFC Bournemouth vs. Cardiff City

Cardiff City's U21 side are back for their second match of the week on Friday afternoon, as they travel to face the Cherries - KO at 1pm.

The young Bluebirds were held to a 0-0 draw at Cardiff International Sports Stadium on Monday afternoon, as they weren't quite able to break the deadlock against a defensively sound Watford.

Friday afternoon's challenge will see City up against a AFC Bournemouth side that currently resides in second place on the PDL South table.

With 29 points earned from 14 matches, the Cherries have only been defeated three times this season, though their most recent defeat came on December 9th at home against Ipswich Town, finishing 3-1 to the visiting Tractor Boys.

Since then, Bournemouth returned to winning ways against Bristol City, opening their new year with three points on Tuesday afternoon.

Ahead of travelling to Bournemouth, U21s Manager Darren Purse shared his thoughts on fixture, with a quick turnaround needed for their second match of the week.

“We’ll have had four days to recover from Monday’s match,” began Darren. “As well as that, we’re expecting a few of the boys who were involved in last week’s FA Cup match with the First Team to be back with us, so we’ll be looking to see who is going to be in contention.

“It will mean that we’ll have potentially an older side starting on Friday, and the boys who are playing both will have that experience of showing that they’re able to perform in a double game week, which will be a big test for them.

“It will be another game where we’ll need to roll up our sleeves at times, because Bournemouth is a different test for us.”