The disjointed nature of this weekend’s schedule has been a bit odd, and it’s left some fans feeling a little bit frustrated with just two 3pm Premier League kick offs on Saturday. Of course, nostalgia has an important role to play in that, but either way we shouldn’t be getting all too down about it. There’s a whole new set of fixtures coming to our screens over the course of the next few days, as we sit back and enjoy some rare midweek action in the Premier League. Sure, it’s not quite the same as fixtures on the weekend, but we’ll take what we can get.

Tuesday will see Cardiff City host Everton, in a game that may not seem particularly ‘intriguing’, but actually has some interesting connotations to it. The Toffees haven’t exactly been the most consistent of Premier League sides since the season kicked off in August, whereas the Bluebirds are still trying their best to fight back against the threat of relegation. The lively Welsh crowd need to try and create an intimidating atmosphere under the lights, because if they can’t, then Everton’s quality could end up being the difference maker between defeat and a victory.

Neil Warnock has done a pretty good job of keeping Cardiff in the hunt for survival, given that many fans saw them as certainties for the drop this season. Instead, it’s Huddersfield who have taken that role, with Cardiff picking up some pretty impressive results in recent months. Still, they’ve got a long way to go until they can be considered safe, and if you’ve been following Warnock’s career then you’ll know that controversial relegations have followed him around like a bad smell. They’re a determined team, though, so perhaps they’ve got enough in their locker to shock the world once again.

Everton have been lingering around midtable for most of the season now, and it must make for a pretty infuriating existence for Toffees fans. After all, a lot of these supporters will probably still remember what it felt like to be challenging for a spot in the Champions League. That’ll feel like a million years ago at this stage, which is odd, given that they’re in a better position financially than they have been in a long time. They’ve got a new stadium on the horizon, a series of really impressive players, and a manager that should probably be getting more out of this team.

Cardiff’s last six game run began with a dull 0-0 draw against Huddersfield Town, which led a lot of fans to believe that Cardiff were on the same level as the Premier League’s bottom-placed side. They didn’t do much to help their cause with a 3-0 loss to Newcastle United, before a narrow defeat to Arsenal. They managed to put up a good performance against the Gunners, though, and that helped to spur them on to consecutive wins over Bournemouth and Southampton. A 5-1 trouncing at the hands of Watford brought them right back down to earth this past weekend.

Everton’s latest six game run has made for pretty rough viewing for their fans. They were beaten 2-1 by Southampton, before being knocked out of the FA Cup by struggling Millwall. They picked up a narrow 1-0 win over Huddersfield but it wasn’t exactly an inspiring performance, and neither was their 3-1 battering at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers. They were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City and, also in their last meeting, they lost 1-0 to Watford which made it five losses in their last six. Perhaps that isn’t enough to start raising questions about the management, but it’s not exactly the kind of form you’d expect from this club.

With their first meeting taking place back in 1921, you’d think that these two sides have been going at it for years – but that isn’t quite true. Everton narrowly lead 14-13 with just nine draws, and they’ve only played each other three times since 1979 as a result of Cardiff’s tenure in the Football League. Their last meeting took place back in November 2018 when Everton walked away with a narrow 1-0 victory, but there’s something to be said for the fact that Cardiff kept it close despite history telling us that the Merseyside club have been much more ‘successful’.

The word that is going to be on the lips of most Cardiff fans is ‘changes’ next week. Their 5-1 humbling at the hands of Watford has left many wondering whether or not Warnock will shake things up, because in truth, he kind of needs to. Cardiff can either be a really easy team to prepare for or a really hard one to prepare for, depending on whether or not they’re willing to go against the status quo. They aren’t the most technical or skilful team in the world, granted, but at times this season they’ve wound up resembling a Championship team in disguise.

Kurt Zouma is set to be suspended for this one after picking up a record card against Watford in Everton’s last outing. Marco Silva will have no major excuses coming into this one with Everton having a lot of time off between this game and their last one, but with that being said, you also have to wonder whether or not he even knows what his best starting XI even is. Hopefully this time off has given him the chance to really analyse what he has at his disposal, because another poor performance could start raising a few eyebrows.

Cardiff vs Everton Betting Prediction

The games between these two teams have been pretty tight in the past, and we think that’ll be the case again here. Everton seem to be a little bit shy when it comes to pulling the trigger right now, whereas Cardiff have a tendency to fall apart just when it seems like they’re riding high. We think it’s going to be a bit of a physical war with both teams picking up a series of yellow cards, which should open the game up a little bit more in the second half.

Early in the second, we think Everton are going to start stepping up the pressure which will lead to them taking the lead. They’ll try to sit back on it, inviting the pressure from Cardiff, who won’t quite be able to break them down. From an entertainment standpoint it may not be the greatest Premier League encounter you’re ever going to lay your eyes on, but does it need to be? If you’re desperate for points then sometimes you need to do things the ugly way, because in this game, getting the points on the board is all that matters.

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