Cardiff v Coventry: Both sides can oblige in capital contest

Cardiff winning streak ended

Cardiff's three-game Championship winning streak ended abruptly on Saturday as the Bluebirds were beaten 2-1 by Millwall at The Den. A bruising midfield battle ensured there was little to set pulses racing during a largely uneventful opening 45 minutes, with Welsh club struggling to show the quality and coherency of recent performances.

And Steve Morison's men were punished by an improved Millwall display in the second period, with the Lions taking charge of the contest courtesy of goals from Murray Wallace and substitute Mason Bennett. Joel Bagan did bag a stoppage-time consolation for the visitors, but Cardiff didn't do enough to earn a share of the spoils in South London.

Speaking post-match, Morison said, "It was a game too far for us. Physically we struggled and lacked intensity in our press. Sometimes you have to take it on the chin, because it's just the physical stretch. We've had a lot of games and when you are scrapping like we have been, it is physical and emotional tiredness. It is one we draw a line under and move on."

Coventry claim top honours in Berkshire

Coventry claimed a 3-2 victory away to Reading in an entertaining clash from Berkshire. The relegation-threatened Royals went ahead midway through the first half but the Sky Blues equalised on the stroke of half-time through Dominic Hyam. Michael Rose made it 2-1 to City shortly after half-time, only for the hosts to restore parity before the hour mark.

However, Reading were reduced to 10 men in the 63rd minute and two minutes later, Ian Maatsen took advantage, grabbing what proved to be the Coventry winner with a deflected strike. The success moves the Sky Blues into the top-half of the table, just five points below a play-off spot, but Sky Blues chief Mark Robins admitted his team weren't at their best.

Robins said, "We ground it out. We've done really well over the past few games and had little to show for it. But today we don't perform nearly as well and have picked up three points. Performance-wise, you could tell that we'd played 120 minutes last Saturday and then a tough game against Blackpool midweek. But we got three goals away, which is difficult to do."

Tough game to call

Cardiff and Coventry have met 21 times in league action since 2003/04 with the Bluebirds enjoying W10-D6-L5 supremacy across all venues. That includes a relatively dominant W6-D2-L2 return when taking on the Sky Blues in their Welsh capital base, with Cardiff taking top honours in four of their most recent five such fixtures here against the Midlanders.

Cardiff 2.6213/8 have impressed in their last two home tussles, comfortably dispatching Peterborough (4-0) and Nottingham Forest (2-1) to move clear of immediate relegation danger. An influx of quality January additions has allowed Steve Morison to re-shape his squad and the Bluebirds have certainly appeared more cohesive and confident of late.

Coventry 2.767/4 were the Championship's early surprise package this season and although inconsistent winter form has seen Mark Robins' men have slipped out of the top-six, the Sky Blues remain in the play-off picture. The visitors have only W4-D5-L5 on the road but can also call upon a reasonable W9-D4-L3 return when taking on bottom-half dwellers.

Both sides can oblige

Goals could be on the agenda at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday. No Championship side has kept fewer clean sheets than Cardiff's paltry tally of three and the Bluebirds' unreliable rearguard should encourage a Coventry outfit that's scored in 15 of their past 19 league dates, as well as 13 of their 16 encounters with bottom-half scrappers this season.

Coventry have silenced just two home teams since August and with Cardiff getting on the scoresheet in 11 of their most recent 14 Championship outings, it makes sense to consider Both Teams To Score as an option at 1.8910/11 quotes. Collectively the duo have been involved in only two goalless games this term, highlighting the propensity for goal-laden games.