EFL pundit issues concerning Cardiff City relegation verdict amid Blackpool, Huddersfield, Rotherham and Wigan battle | OneFootball

David Prutton believes Cardiff City will need to be “on it” both physically and mentally to give themselves the best chance of securing survival at the end of the season, speaking on the Sky Sports Championship Predictions Podcast.

Currently sitting in 21st going into this afternoon’s derby clash against Bristol City, they aren’t exactly in an ideal position at this stage with the Bluebirds currently sitting just four points above Huddersfield Town.

The Terriers also have a game in hand over Sabri Lamouchi’s men – and that will concern the Welsh outfit who will be nervous about the prospect of Neil Warnock making an excellent impact at the John Smith’s Stadium.

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Scoring just 25 times in 34 league matches, they have the worst attacking record in the division and that could end up being a fatal blow for them as they look to escape the drop, with teams below them eager to capitalise on that.

Coming up against the Robins this afternoon, Nigel Pearson’s men have been in fine form in recent months and put in a respectable performance against Manchester City in midweek.

That just reinforces the size of the task they face today – and Prutton believes Cardiff could be in for a nervous end to the season.

He said (Gameweek 35; 10:42): “I think by virtue of the fact that we’ve got Neil Warnock (Huddersfield Town), Mick McCarthy (Blackpool) and Shaun Maloney (Wigan Athletic) in charge down there, they’re all locked on 31 points and they’re (Cardiff) four points above.

“I was very impressed with Rotherham on Monday night against Swansea, so Cardiff just find themselves in between a team that looks like it might be getting its act together and three underneath them with the impetus of new management, so it’s going to be very, very squeaky.

“I can see so many different permutations of who that bottom three could possibly be. There’s going to be no rest for the wicked for Cardiff between now and the end of the season. They’ve got to be on it, both physically and mentally.”

The Verdict:

Their inability to score may end up costing them in the end, even though their recent victories against the likes of Birmingham City and Reading were promising.

However, their performance against the Royals wasn’t exactly promising. Paul Ince’s side were extremely poor on the evening and the Bluebirds didn’t exactly show a huge amount of quality in the final third, something that perhaps shouldn’t come as a major shock.

Points are what count between now and the end of the season though and they won’t care how they come, as long as they can them on the board.

Today’s clash will be a difficult one but it’s certainly a winnable one considering they have the home advantage.

In terms of their other games before the international break, they go up against Preston North End at Deepdale, West Bromwich Albion and potential relegation rivals Rotherham United.

Preston’s home form hasn’t been good this season and that provides them with an opportunity to capitalise – and they could certainly take something away from their game against the Millers.

The West Brom game will be very tough though.