Championship | Gameweek 37

Mar 11, 2025 at 7.45pm UK

Cardiff City Stadium

Cardiff vs Luton

Match preview

Cardiff go into the midweek clash on the back of a poor run of form which has seen them win one, draw two and lose four of their last seven league games.

Their only win during that period came on 25 February when they beat Hull City 1-0 at home thanks to Callum Robinson's second-half strike.

The Bluebirds then lost back-to-back league games, going down 2-1 at home to Burnley before suffering the same fate away at Sunderland on Saturday.

Isaak Davies' 41st-minute equaliser sent Cardiff into the break on level terms, but Chris Mepham's 77th-minute strike condemned the Bluebirds to a third defeat in four Championship away games.

Omer Riza's side will be relishing their return to the Cardiff City Stadium, where they have won three of their last five games (D1, L1).

The hosts will be hoping that home advantage can help them record their first win over Luton since a 2-1 away victory in November 2021.

Luton will be looking to bounce back from a 4-0 defeat away to promotion-chasing Burnley on Saturday.

The Hatters travelled to Turf Moor with renewed belief after ending a 12-match league winless run with a narrow 1-0 home victory over Portsmouth.

However, the positivity generated by that result was dashed by a disastrous performance at Turf Moor as Burnley took full advantage of Kal Naismith's 19th-minute red card to score four unanswered goals and condemn the Hatters to a third successive away defeat, leaving them five points adrift of safety.

Indeed, Luton have now lost 14 of their last 15 Championship away games, with their last win coming at Millwall in September.

However, they can take heart from the fact that they have won each of their last four meetings with the Bluebirds, including a narrow 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture in November thanks to Jacob Brown's 57th-minute strike.

The Hatters will be desperate to keep another clean sheet against Cardiff, having conceded at least two goals in 13 of their last 15 away games.

Recent Performance

Cardiff City Championship form:LDDWLL

Cardiff City form (all competitions):DDWLLL

Luton Town Championship form:LLDLWL

Team News

The hosts are without Jak Alnwick, Joe Ralls, Ollie Tanner, Yakou Meite, David Turnbull and Jesper Daland.

Andy Rinomhota remains a doubt after missing Saturday's defeat at Cardiff with a hamstring problem picked up against Burnley last Tuesday.

Will Alves is pushing for a starting berth after returning from a three-match injury lay-off to play over half an hour against Sunderland.

Luton will be without Marvelous Nakamba and Shandon Baptiste due to calf injuries, while Teden Mengi and Tahith Chong are sidelined with knee and hamstring problems respectively.

Defender Mark McGuinness is in line to replace Naismith, who will serve a one-match ban after being sent off for two bookable offences in Saturday's defeat at Burnley.

Bloomfield could make changes to his forward line, with Brown and Carlton Morris pushing for recalls after being dropped to the bench at Turf Moor.

Possible starting lineup

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:

Horvath; Ng, Goutas, Bagan, O'Dowda; Chambers, Mannsverk; Colwill, Alves, Davies; Salech

Luton Town possible starting lineup:

Kaminski; Makosso, McGuinness, Bell; Jones, Walsh, Clark, Aasgaard, Doughty; Morris, Brown