Match Pack: Cardiff City v Watford

• Cardiff City v Watford
• Sky Bet Championship
• Cardiff City Stadium
• Wednesday November 2, 7.45pm KO
• Yellow home kit

• Referee: Keith Stroud
• Assistant Referees: Ian Cooper and George Byrne
• Fourth Official: Matthew Donohue

With Interim Head Coach Mark Hudson currently in charge following the departure of Steve Morison in September, Cardiff City sit in 17th place, five points behind the Hornets. The Bluebirds ended a three-game losing streak with a 1-0 win at home to Rotherham on Saturday, with Aston Villa loanee Jaden Philogene-Bidace scoring the only goal in South Wales.

Cardiff’s last home game under the lights was a successful one, beating Blackburn Rovers 1-0 in October.

• Watford have won four of their last five meetings with Cardiff City, picking up three points thanks to a late Adam Masina free-kick in the last fixture between the two sides.

• The Hornets have come out on top in their last three away league matches against Cardiff, scoring 11 goals in the process, including a 5-1 win in the 2018/19 Premier League season.

• If Cardiff come up short on Tuesday night, it would be their longest losing streak against Watford in their history, with the current three-game streak the longest since September 2007 (also three).

For a full statistical breakdown check out Stats Buzz: Cardiff City In Numbers.

After picking up his fifth yellow card of the campaign, midfielder Hamza Choudhury will serve a one-match ban.

Slaven Bilić confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday that Keinan Davis and Craig Cathcart will be unavailable through injury, having missed last weekend’s 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic.

Samuel Kalu and Vakoun Bayo will face late fitness tests, but have travelled to South Wales with the squad.

Also missing out due to suspension, Cardiff City striker Callum Robinson will be absent for the game having picked up a red card against rivals Swansea City on October 23.

The Bluebirds have Rubin Colwill, Ebou Adams and Isaak Davies making progress on their injury recovery, but it’s unlikely the trio will be fit for a return to the matchday squad.

Slaven Bilić, Watford Head Coach:
“I’ve watched them, and I like Cardiff’s team. They have energy, quality, and they play on the front foot. They have lost a few games in recent weeks, but there have been factors like red cards that have affected things, so we know we are in for a hard evening.

“It’s important we go there and play our own game. The big thing for our psychology is keeping up this confidence and momentum, and getting to mid-November with as many points as possible.”

Mark Hudson, Cardiff City Interim Head Coach:
“We know that Watford are a good team. They’ve got some really good players and individual match-winners, so again we need to be looking forward to it at our stadium.

“It’s an opportunity for them to come to us, and we’ve got to deliver on our game plan and play our way, which we will do.

“We’re going to have to be right at our top level to get the result, so we’re looking forward to it.”

Overall:

Won: 22
Drawn: 14
Lost: 23

Last Six:

March 2021: Cardiff City 1-2 Watford (Championship)
December 2020: Watford 0-1 Cardiff City (Championship)
February 2019: Cardiff City 1-5 Watford (Premier League)
December 2018: Watford 3-2 Cardiff City (Premier League)
December 2014: Cardiff City 2-4 Watford (Championship)
November 2014: Watford 0-1 Cardiff City (Championship)

Watford secured their biggest-ever win over Cardiff City in a 5-1 hammering in 2019, with Gerard Deulofeu scoring the first hat-trick from a Watford player in the Premier League.