Hull vs Cardiff Prediction: Tigers can temper Cardiff’s new manager bounce

The Championship’s bottom club Cardiff City will begin life after Erol Bulut this Saturday (15:00), as they travel to Hull to try and get their season up and running. Meanwhile the Tigers impressed last time out in their 3-1 win over Stoke, and will be looking to get another three points on the board after failing to win their first six in all competitions. 

Omer Riza will take charge of the Bluebirds for this one and has been named as the ‘interim manager’ as the hunt for a new permanent first-team boss continues. He could be handed the job on a full-time basis if he does enough in these games, but the likes of Mark Hughes and Steven Schumacher are also in the mix to take the reigns in south Wales. 

Below you can find my Hull vs Cardiff prediction, as Riza looks to stake his claim for the top job. 

Team News

Tim Walter may try and name the same XI as he did in the win over Stoke, given Hull put in an excellent second half showing to turn the match around. After his summer arrival from Coventry, Kasey Palmer was the creative key in midfield, and will look to flourish again behind Chris Bedia. Regan Slater is the most likely candidate to break up the attacking trio as he scored from the bench, while Liam Millar continues to impress for the Tigers and will surely start this one.

Meanwhile, we aren’t quite sure how Riza will set Cardiff up in his first game in charge. What we do know is that Joel Bagan is suspended after his red card, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the likes of Anwar El Ghazi, Chris Willock and even goalkeeper Ethan Horvath come into the side. Cardiff fans will want to see a far more competitive outfit that they have seen so far this term.

Hull vs Cardiff Odds

Hull are the favourites for this one priced at 10/11 for the win, with Cardiff available at 5/2. The Welsh side haven’t won a game so far this season, but if you fancy them to pick up only their second point of the campaign, a draw can be backed at 11/4. Over 2.5 goals is 5/6, BTTS is 8/11 and Bedia is the favourite to open the scoring at 11/2. 

Hull to win @ 10/11

I think we have to back the home side here. Hull are celebrating 120 years of existence this Saturday, and with discounted tickets available, a bumper attendance is expected. That, combined with the confidence they will have taken from the win over Stoke should lead to another good showing from Walter’s side, and they are coming up against a Cardiff team that simply haven’t shown anything yet this term. 

Football Odds

I am slightly concerned that the sacking of Bulut will have motivated the Cardiff players, but on balance I still think Hull are worth backing. I don’t think the Bluebirds are going to be particularly strong this term, no matter who is in charge, so I’m not going to take too much notice of the new manager bounce. They just don’t seem to have that much quality in their ranks right now, whereas Hull are improving. Home win.  

Under 2.5 goals @ 5/6

Despite scoring three goals last time out, Hull only had three shots on target in the entire game, and in the five games previous to that win, they had only found the net twice. Meanwhile, Cardiff have scored just once this term, and although their defence has been shambloic, I think they will be more resolute now Bulut has departed. 

I cannot see this one being a particularly entertaining encounter, with a low-scoring home win the most likely outcome. Cardiff will take a point if you offered it to them right now, while Hull still have work to do to nail down their preferred attacking trio. They have talented individuals such as Palmer and Millar, but getting them to gel into a cohesive unit is Walter’s next challenge. A low-scoring affair is expected at the MKM.