Cardiff City vs QPR Prediction: Home side should win relegation crunch match

Cardiff City are in a slightly strange period right now, with Omer Riza still uncertain about his future in charge of the first team. He looked like a shoo-in to get the job on a permanent basis after a superb start, but results have faltered slightly of late, meaning conversations around a permanent replacement for Erol Bulut have restarted. 

Cardiff’s next test comes at home to QPR on Wednesday night (19:45, Sky Sports+), as Marti Cifuentes struggles to get his side away from danger. This clash could have major implications on the relegation battle moving forward, and below you can find my Cardiff City vs QPR predictions.

Team News

Riza may be able to welcome back centre-half Calum Chambers to his squad, having missed the weekend draw at Hillsborough, but he is unlikely to displace Dimitrios Goutas from the heart of the defence after a decent showing v Sheffield Wednesday. 

Ollie Tanner, Rubin Colwill and Yakou Meite are in line to start once again behind Callum Robinson, but the Bluebirds are still waiting for the return of the influential Aaron Ramsey, while Kion Etete and Ryotaro Tsunoda are also sidelined. We could see a more aggressive line-up from Riza on home soil, and Joe Ralls may provide slightly more thrust in the centre of midfield. 

Football Odds

Chris Willock was an unused substitute at the weekend and could also provide more flair in the final third, against a QPR side who are struggling to get points on the board. It’s a problem that Cifuentes has to solve sharpish, as we head into the festive period. 

Kenneth Paal is now back in action and could start at left-back, while Morgan Fox is also back as an option for the R’s. Unfortunately, QPR’s three key figures are all out injured, with Jake Clarke-Salter, Ilias Chair and Michael Frey all still on the treatment table. 21-year-old Alfie Lloyd could provide a different option up front in place of the underperforming Zan Celar.

Cardiff City vs QPR Odds

Cardiff are priced at 1/1 to win this game, giving them a 50% win probability heading into this one. QPR can be backed at 11/4, a draw is 5/2 and over 2.5 goals is 1/1. BTTS is 5/6 and Callum Robinson is the favourite to score first at 4/1. 

Cardiff to win and under 2.5 goals @ 3/1

I have to back the home side to win this game. They’ve shown more this season than QPR have, and got a creditable point away at Sheff Wed last time out. Riza is desperate to get his hands on this job permanently, and I think they should have enough to get past a QPR outfit who have been decimated by injuries. Clarke-Salter, Chair and Frey are their three best players in my eyes and getting results without them is going to be tough. 

Cardiff have only scored four goals in their last five games while QPR are going to try and get away from South Wales with a clean sheet, so I’m also going to throw under 2.5 goals into the mix here. It boosts our odds up to 3/1, and I’m happy to back the Bluebirds at that price - but this is going to be a tight and nervy encounter. 

Robinson to score first in 2-0 win @ 40/1

I’ve also gone for a long-shot in this match in the form of a scorecast. I think Robinson is the most likely to open the scoring given I believe the home side will be able to dominate this fixture and the striker is Cardiff’s top scorer with five goals to his name already this term. 

Three of those have come in his last six appearances so he should be able to find the net against a leaky QPR backline, while I also fancy Cardiff to keep a clean sheet on home soil. The 2-0 scoreline feels the most sensible from my point of view, so I’m happy to merge these two selections to come up with a massive price of 40/1.

Offers

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