Neil Warnock says his job at Cardiff is “as difficult as any I’ve had in my career,” and it does not get any easier with this visit to a Tottenham side still smarting from their Champions League loss to Barcelona. Warnock has worked wonders in his two years at Cardiff, uniting the club and winning a surprise promotion. But have they been ready for the Premier League? Sorely lacking a goal threat, they continue to seek their first victory. David Hytner Saturday 3pm Venue Wembley Stadium Last season n/a Referee Mike Dean This season G5 Y19 R2 4.60 cards/game Odds H 1-4 A 14-1 D 9-2 TOTTENHAM Subs from Gazzaniga, Vorm, Walker-Peters, Davies, Foyth, Wanyama, Sissoko, Nkoudou, Llorente Doubtful Vorm (knee) Injured Aurier (thigh), Dembélé (thigh), Eriksen (abdominal, all 20 Oct), Alli (hamstring, 27 Oct), Vertonghen (hamstring, Nov) Suspended None Discipline Y9 R0 Form WWLLWW Leading scorer Kane 5 CARDIFF Subs from B Murphy, Richards, Hoilett, Paterson, Madine, Bennett, Harris, Zohore, Connolly, Damour, Coxe, Brown Doubtful None Injured Gunnarsson (knee, 20 Oct), Mendez-Laing (knee, Dec), Peltier (shoulder, Dec) Suspended None Discipline Y9 R0 Form DDLLLL Leading scorers Bamba, Camarasa, Murphy, Ward 1<doc-sep>Can the Bluebirds capitalise and beat an injury hit Spurs at Wembley? Tottenham Hotspur will be hoping to bounce back from their 4-2 defeat at the hands of Barcelona when they face Cardiff in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. Spurs, though, with their depleted squad are set for a tough match as their opponents target their first league victory of the campaign. 4 Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane celebrates scoring against Barcelona. Bluebirds’ boss Neil Warnock has admitted he could be sacked due to the club’s winless run but an afternoon in west London could be the perfect remedy as his opposite number struggles to find fit players. Latest Premier League News GLORY Now Capoue and Foyth have shown Kane what can happen if you leave Tottenham NEWS Woeful De Gea stat, Solskjaer 'not at Man United's level', Rashford abused after final LIVE Transfer news: Poch Tottenham talks, £18m Leicester deal, Bayern sign English defender Finished Solskjaer ‘not Man United standard’ with Conte ideal replacement after final loss DRAMA Man United stunned by Villarreal as Solskjaer's search for silverware goes on TRANSFER West Ham target another Czech signing, while Vladimir Coufal begins contract talks gone Conte leaves Inter: Spurs would be 'match made in hell' due to 'trail of carnage' rebuild How Arsenal can learn from Chelsea and Man United to reach Champions League again OUT Maddison the 'most unlucky' to miss out on England team but Foxes ace 'lacks toughness' Probe Sterling ‘reputation’ got England spot as Alexander-Arnold Euro call-up is questioned What are the managers saying? Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham): “In the Premier League there are no easy games. Everyone can think the motivation to play against Barcelona and it looks like we are going to play Saturday and it will be an easy game. “For me it’s the opposite. The most difficult game is the game that everyone believes outside of the team that you must win. For us it’s so important to be motivated in the same level. If not we are going to struggle.” 4 Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino Neil Warnock (Cardiff): “Vincent (Tan) is as difficult as any owner but his heart is in the right place and he wants to do well. “If the time came when he felt someone would be a better option I wouldn’t have a problem with that. “If we don’t get results, no doubt it will become someone else’s problem. “What’s the worst scenario? I could go away with (wife) Sharon to Italy or somewhere and have a nice, relaxed Christmas.” 4 Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock Team news Pochettino confirmed Tottenham will have none of their injured superstars back for the Premier League game. This means Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, Dele Alli, Serge Aurier, and Christian Eriksen remain out. Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Juan Foyth are available having been ineligible for the Barcelona defeat. Cardiff have Junior Hoilett back after an illness kept him out of the match with Burnley but Aron Gunnarsson is still out with a knee problem. 4 Jan Vertonghen suffered a hamstring injury against Huddersfield Town Confirmed line-ups Tottenham: Lloris (C), Trippier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Rose, Dier, Winks, Sissoko, Lucas, Son, Kane Cardiff: Etheridge; Manga, Morrison, Bamba, Bennett; Camarasa, Arter, Ralls, Hoilett; Paterson; Murphy<doc-sep>Sports Mole provides predicted lineups, team news and a full match preview of the Premier League meeting between Tottenham Hotspur and Cardiff City. Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to continue their ascent up the Premier League table when they welcome a winless Cardiff City side to Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Lilywhites have won back-to-back matches in the top flight to climb into fourth place, but they suffered a setback in midweek when losing to Barcelona in the Champions League. Tottenham Hotspur © Reuters While there is no shame in losing to Spanish champions Barcelona, especially when coming close to snatching a point from Wednesday night's fixture at one stage, Mauricio Pochettino knows that his side's hopes of progression in the Champions League are already left hanging by a thread. The Lilywhites recovered from an early setback against Barca to make it 2-1 within seven minutes of the second half, only for Lionel Messi to show exactly why he is considered the greatest player to have ever played the sport. The eventual 4-2 loss was a tough one to take for Pochettino, who admitted that he was disappointed to see his side trail within 92 seconds at Wembley, but was ultimately pleased with the fighting spirit shown by his players to make a game of it. With all due respect to this weekend's opponents Cardiff, Spurs will expect to have far more possession and a lot more joy across the field compared to Wednesday night in this final Premier League outing before the penultimate international break of the year. Tottenham will not be too disheartened by their midweek setback, then, even if it does leave them with a huge mountain to climb in Europe following last month's 2-1 loss to Inter Milan. Pochettino's men somehow threw away all three points in Italy by conceding two goals in the final five minutes, making it three losses on the spin at that point. Since then, though, they have won three matches in all competitions and lost just once - that two-goal defeat to Barca. Two of those victories have come away to Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town in the league, and now after a three-week absence the Lilywhites are back at Wembley in the top flight. Tottenham's only other league matches at their temporary home have provided a mixed return, having beaten Fulham and lost Liverpool. With their new ground still seemingly a couple of months away from completion, now is the time to turn Wembley back into a fortress. Scoring goals certainly has not been an issue to the Londoners in the Premier League, as they have netted in 32 of their last 33 outings - the exception being a 1-0 loss to West Bromwich Albion in May - and with Harry Kane back in form that run looks certain to continue on Saturday. Recent form in Premier League: WWLLWW Recent form (all competitions): LLWWWL Cardiff City © Reuters Cardiff's 2-1 defeat to Burnley last weekend was the most crushing of Neil Warnock's two-year reign in South Wales, with the Bluebirds coming out second best in a match that was billed 'must-win' before a ball had been kicked. The Bluebirds actually produced arguably their best display yet against the Clarets and scored an impressive goal through Josh Murphy to temporarily level things up, but some poor defending cost them a share of the spoils. That made it four defeats in a row in the Premier League and five in all competitions, having also been dumped out of the EFL Cup by Norwich City in August, while their winless streak stands at eight matches since the start of the season - their joint-worst run since 1964. Warnock, who celebrates his two-year anniversary in South Wales this week, could be forgiven for blaming the fixture list for his side's slow start to their second ever Premier League campaign, seeing his side face Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City in quick succession. All three of those matches ended in defeat, although the first two did provide the veteran boss with some positives. Then came the crushing loss to Burnley, and now the big question is exactly when will the Welsh outfit pick up their first three points? With Tottenham and Liverpool up next on their travels, there is even more importance on the home matches against Fulham, Leicester City and Brighton over the next five weeks. The good news for Cardiff, and indeed fellow winless sides Huddersfield and Newcastle, is that they are still within three points of safety at this early stage, despite what has been a terrible start. City conceded 12 goals in those three matches with Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City and have the joint-worst defensive record in the top flight, while up the other end only Huddersfield have netted fewer than their four goals to date. Warnock admitted after the loss to Burnley that he is "not sure" what more he can do for his side to start picking up points. If the Bluebirds are to avoid being cut adrift before the transfer window reopens in January, then they need to find some sort of solution to their problems soon. Recent form in the Premier League: DDLLLL Recent form (all competitions): DLLLLL Team News © Reuters Tottenham will be without a number of first-team players for this weekend's match, as Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen and Serge Aurier are all nursing injury problems. A lack of squad depth cost the Lilywhites against Barcelona in midweek, with no game-changing replacements to come on for their tired regulars, and Pochettino will therefore have to go largely with the same XI that started that midweek European match. Danny Rose and Eric Dier will both be considered for recalls, potentially giving Ben Davies and Victor Wanyama a breather, and Pochettino now has skipper Hugo Lloris back from a month-long layoff. There are fewer concerns over the fitness of Kane now compared to a couple of weeks ago, meanwhile, with the Englishman scoring four times in his last three outings to take his tally in Tottenham colours to 146 goals in 222 matches. In terms of the visitors, Warnock would ideally look to pad out his midfield with an extra man for the trip to London, but Aron Gunnarsson remains absent until after the international break. Junior Hoilett's return does give the 69-year-old an alternative option out wide, however, but Murphy performed well on his return from injury against Burnley and Victor Camarasa has also impressed since arriving on loan in the summer. An unchanged starting lineup is therefore a possibility, meaning another chance for Kenneth Zohore to prove himself up top, just ahead of the versatile Callum Paterson, who won more aerial duals against Burnley than any other Premier League player in a single match since 2003-04. Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup: Lloris; Rose, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Trippier; Winks, Dier; Moura, Lamela, Son; Kane Cardiff City possible starting lineup: Etheridge; Cunningham, Bamba, Morrison, Manga; Murphy, Ralls, Arter, Camarasa; Paterson; Zohore Head To Head Cardiff have failed to win any of the last seven meetings between these two sides, losing five of those since a 1-0 triumph in the FA Cup 41 years ago. The Bluebirds' last away victory in this fixture came in an old Division One clash in 1954, failing to win in eight attempts since then. The most recent encounter took place at White Hart Lane in March 2014, when Spurs claimed a narrow 1-0 win through Roberto Soldado's first-half goal. We say: Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Cardiff City A lack of cutting edge and an inability to defend has cost City so far, and their task does not get any easier this weekend with this trip to Wembley Stadium. Tottenham had picked up three victories on the spin prior to their midweek loss at the hands of Barcelona, and it is no surprise that they are overwhelming favourites to get back to winning ways against 19th-placed Cardiff on Saturday.<doc-sep>
You might have heard, but Tottenham Hotspur have a bunch of injuries right now. That’s the bad news. The good news is that, after a tough loss to Barcelona in the Champions League, they can put things right with a turnaround win over faltering Cardiff City at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Predicted Lineup Tottenham Hotspur vs. Wolverhampton Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK Date: Sunday, March 1, 2020 Time: 9 am ET, 2 pm UK TV: not televised (USA/UK) Stream: NBC Sports Gold ($) I’m not going to sugarcoat it: Cardiff are not good. Neil Warnock has said that getting Cardiff promoted has been one of the biggest accomplishments of his managerial career, and it’s not hard to see why: they’re easily a Championship caliber team, one of three that are still winless in the Premier League along with Huddersfield and Newcastle. They rank 17th in the league in xG with a staggering 6.27, which makes the four goals they have actually scored all that much worse. In a sense, Cardiff have been a touch unlucky — their expected points are at just over 7 — still not great, but meeting that would put them in a tie for 12th. Cardiff don’t take a whole lot of shots (11.1/g) and when they do they’re rarely on target (2.6/g). In fact, they aren’t particularly good at anything. Probably the most we can expect from Cardiff is that they will try and sit back, absorb pressure, and force Spurs to play through them. Not a bad strategy against Spurs, except that no other team in the league has conceded more goals (16) than the Bluebirds (though several have equalled that ignominious stat). In fairness, they’ve also run a bit of a gauntlet over the past month, with consecutive losses to Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Burnley. In reality, Spurs are unlikely to be too troubled by Warnock’s men. Cardiff are, in short, pretty lame birds. How will Tottenham line up against Cardiff? At the time this article was written, there were still huge question marks over some of Spurs’ injured players. Some we know will be absent a while — Serge Aurier, Dele Alli, and Jan Vertonghen have all been more or less ruled out of the Cardiff match and we can safely assume that we won’t see them for a while. Others are a little less certain. Christian Eriksen was a no for Barça, but there have been rumors he might be ready for a return against the Bluebirds. We also don’t know anything about Mousa Dembele. What this means is that by the time you read this article on Thursday, Mauricio Pochettino will likely have already had his pre-match press release and the club will have released team news. That could make this predicted lineup obsolete. At least I hope it does. But barring that, and assuming the players who missed out on Wednesday don’t return, it’s very possible that we’ll see a lineup very similar to what we saw against Barcelona, with a few tweaks. Davinson Sanchez and Toby Alderweireld are a virtual lock to start. I expect Danny Rose to rotate in, and I would not be surprised if Kyle Walker-Peters comes in for Kieran Trippier. I expect Eric Dier will return to the starting lineup over Victor Wanyama, but I would guess Harry Winks will retain his place over Moussa Sissoko. I can’t see any way that Erik Lamela, Son Heung-Min, Lucas Moura, and Harry Kane don’t start again, unless of course Christian Eriksen is ready for a return. Once again, it’s not the most creative of lineups, but it’s Cardiff. They are bad, and Spurs shouldn’t have too many worries. The bench should be somewhat interesting. Juan Foyth should be there. Oliver Skipp might as well, for the second time. It’ll be interesting to see whether Pochettino moves Michel Vorm back to the bench, or if Paulo Gazzaniga retains his position as defacto second keeper. That’s my predicted lineup against Cardiff City. What’s yours?