Cardiff vs Southampton Prediction: Saints to continue promotion march

| 19th April |

3 mins read

Southampton make the trip to Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon (15:00), knowing that a victory keeps them firmly in the hunt for an automatic promotion place.

A play-off spot is now mathematically out of reach for the Bluebirds, who are playing for pride at this point, while the Saints currently occupy fourth spot, four points behind second-placed Leicester City. Below you can find my Cardiff vs Southampton prediction, as well as team news and match odds.

Cardiff vs Southampton Prediction

Southampton/Southampton @ 21/20
Over 2.5 goals @ 4/7

Team News

Cardiff are currently dealing with multiple injuries as Josh Wilson-Esbrand, Callum O'Dowda and Mark McGuinness continue to recover from hamstring problems, while Kion Etete and Jak Alnwick also remain on the treatment table.

As for Southampton, they will be without the services of Ross Stewart and Juan Larios due to muscle problems, and first-choice goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu has recently been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

After their 3-0 triumph over Preston North End on Tuesday, Russell Martin may show preference to selecting the same starting lineup after he was able to rest players in the second half.

Match Odds

Cardiff are 13/2 - or a theoretical chance of 13.3% - to halt Southampton's promotion bid, while the visitors are priced up as 2/5 favourites to claim a vital three points.

The draw is available at 18/5, while Southampton emerged as 2-0 winners when the sides last met, and a repeat of that scoreline can be backed at 13/2.

Adam Armstrong is second in the top goalscorer standings with 20 goals, and he's 23/20 to net anytime here, or 4/1 if you fancy him to break the deadlock.

Southampton/Southampton @ 21/20

As mentioned above, the Saints are making a late dash towards the top two positions in the Championship, and they can further boost their promotion hopes by defeating midtable Cardiff on Saturday afternoon.

The Saints are outright favourites for the game at 2/5 but I've opted for half-time/full-time - Southampton/Southampton for added value at 21/20, and Martin's side have led at the break and won in each of their past three outings.

In addition, Southampton have scored in 39 of their 42 Championship games this term, and they coasted to a 3-0 victory at home to Preston on Tuesday, winning the shot count 23 to one, suggesting they'll have too much quality for Cardiff.

The Saints will be aware they can ill-afford any dropped points.

Over 2.5 goals @ 4/7

I also think there will be plenty of goals in this contest, as eight of Southampton's last 10 Championship games have featured over 2.5 goals and the same bet has landed in three of Cardiff's last four outings.

Only Ipswich Town (85) have scored more league goals than the Saints this term (84), while the Bluebirds have shipped the joint-highest amount of goals in the top half, so I don't see them struggling to find the back of the net this weekend.