The Bluebirds were promoted to the Premier League in the second automatic promotion spot behind Wolves and it was seen by most that Cardiff bullied their way to this startling position. Prior to the season, the Bluebirds were 12th favourites to get automatic promotion which highlights the erraticism of the Championship. They owe many of the successes to their manager, Neil Warnock, who stepped in post the 2016/17 season.
Cardiff play a rigid yet effective game of football which makes them very hard to play against, having the most clean sheets in the Championship this season (21). With Fulham also being promoted through the play-offs, Cardiff will be portrayed to have the worst squad in the Premier League this season. However, I do believe that they have some key and cheap FPL assets.
STAR MAN – Sean Morrison (£5.0m)
Sean is Cardiff’s brick at the back. He’s captain for a reason and shows that every game. Yet, his qualities don’t always lie in defence. Watch the highlights of the last few games this season where Cardiff needed to win to keep them above Fulham. His attacking prowess is invaluable. He seemed to win every single ball in the opponent’s box and came close to scoring each time. He scored 7 goals from CB last season – proof is in the pudding. This notion as well as Cardiff’s clean sheet count makes Morrison a tasty option at 5.0m. He’s going to be in my team.
HIDDEN GEM – Callum Paterson (£5.5m)
This is a weird one. Callum was signed by Cardiff from Hearts before the start of last season as a second string RB. He finished the season as an integral part of Cardiff’s attack and when he got injured towards the latter stages, Cardiff really struggled to create opportunities. Callum scored 10 goals and had 4 assists to his name in the campaign. As previously mentioned, Paterson was injured for a chunk of the season therefore his returns could well have been under appreciated by pundits. I expect him to start in a false nine/shadow striker/CAM role with freedom to roam around to find the ball.
BARGAIN – Lee Peltier (£4.0m)
Talk about a bargain! Peltier played 30 times in the 2017/18 Championship season and was a key member of the promoted team. He wears the number 2 shirt therefore depicting a first team role in the squad, and I know for a fact that Warnock adores the bloke. However, He doesn’t get too forward and is attracted to yellow cards. 11 last season to be precise. Cardiff were notorious at keeping clean sheets last year so I expect it to be similar this time around. Peltier may not be your first pick but he would be a price builder on the bench if he proceeds to start the first few games.
PREDICTED LINE UP
Etheridge
Peltier – Morrison – Bamba – Bennett
Mendez-Laing – Ralls – Gunnarson – Hoilett
Paterson
Reid
Written by FPL Opi (@Fpl_Opinion)
