Cardiff City play host to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon seeking their first win of the Championship campaign.
Wolves have enjoyed their visits to South Wales in recent years, but they come up against a resilient Bluebirds side who have made themselves tough to beat under Russell Slade.
Cardiff City
With three games of the league season played, there is currently one big question being asked by Cardiff supporters - glass half empty or half full?
On the one hand, three points from a possible nine is not exactly a great outcome for a side harbouring just the slightest of promotion hopes. Yet on the other hand, an unbeaten start to the campaign - including two fixtures away from home - could now be used as a real springboard to push on.
Whichever way you look at it, Slade will no doubt be targeting a first three-point haul of the campaign when Wolves arrive this coming weekend. If that is to be the case in South Wales, then improvements will be required in a backline that has conceded in all three games to date.
Sean Morrison, who can no longer boast being captain upon David Marshall's return to the fold, was arguably at fault for Blackburn Rovers' late leveller last time out, as well as Clint Hill's opener in the dramatic 2-2 draw at Queens Park Rangers.
Slade also has a big decision to make up top, having once more shown his stubbornness to stick with the same 10 outfield players for a third game running in that 'disappointing' tie at Ewood Park.
One thing the former Leyton Orient chief has done, however, is turn Cardiff into one of the toughest sides to beat in the division. Just the single loss in 10 away outings goes some way to underlining that point, while it has also been 14 games since the Bluebirds last tasted defeat of any sort.
If City supporters are to remain firmly behind their side, then hard-fought draws (QPR), lucky escapes (Fulham) and near misses (Blackburn) must now be turned into victories.
This 46-point average which Cardiff are currently on course to hit will certainly not win over the many doubters currently on Slade's back, regardless of any stats which help to prove that the performances have indeed improved since last term.
Recent form (all competitions): DWDD
Wolverhampton Wanderers
© Getty Images
The incredible capitulation against QPR in midweek - a stark contrast to Cardiff's recent meeting with the Hoops - certainly calls into questions Wolves' promotion credentials.
Coming on the back of a 1-1 draw against Hull City just a few days prior, Kenny Jackett's men have made a somewhat inconsistent start to their second season back at this level by winning one, drawing one and losing one.
The sliding scale of those results suggests that Wanderers are maybe failing to live with their tag of heavily-backed favourites to claim a top-six spot, yet Jackett will not be fazed one iota at this stage.
Losing Bakary Sako earlier this summer may be felt for a while yet, but Benik Afobe has shown that he can more than step up to the plate. After turning down an approach from Norwich City for the prolific forward, Jackett will now hope that the Arsenal product can maintain his impressive form.
Afobe has now scored or assisted nine goals in his last 10 Championship outings, while also converting from the spot as Wolves saw off Newport County in the opening round of the League Cup.
It is up the other end of the field, though, where Jackett will perhaps be feeling a little more worried. One clean sheet in 10 league games, which came against Wigan at the tail end of last season, hints at a backline that needs strengthening.
In particular, Jackett's decision to overlook Carl Ikeme for his side's last two matches in favour of Emiliano Martinez appears to have backfired. The Arsenal loanee came in for criticism on the back of the 3-2 reverse at the hands of QPR, with Wolves falling apart after a strong start.
That was also the case against fellow promotion-hunting side Hull, with Wanderers dropping off their high levels to allow their opponents back into the game. Jackett, who saw his side run out of ideas slightly on Wednesday night, may now be forced into making some changes.
Recent form (all competitions): WWDL
Team News
© Getty Images
Slade has shown during his 10 months in South Wales that he is often reluctant to change his side, which could mean the Bluebirds remaining unchanged once again.
Goalkeeper Marshall was the only player brought in for the clash at Blackburn, leaving the likes of Craig Noone, Sammy Ameobi and Kenwyne Jones kicking their heels as they watched on.
Noone, with two goals to his name already this term, may now be thrown into the starting lineup in place of Anthony Pilkington, who had possibly his weakest game to date in the midweek draw, while Jones is also in contention to be given the nod up top.
In terms of the visitors, Jackett is unlikely to drop Martinez so soon after bringing him into the fold, but further changes could be made elsewhere.
Nouha Dicko is possibly one of those who will fall victim to the axe, with Liverpool loanee Seyi Ojo an option for the visiting side should they wish to add some further width.
Ethan Ebanks-Landell will also be eyeing up a place in defence after Wolves struggled to cope with the threat of Matt Phillips in midweek.
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Marshall; Malone, Connolly, Morrison, Peltier; Ralls, Dikgacoi, Whittingham, Noone; Mason, Jones
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Iorfa, Stearman, Hause, Golbourne; Coady, Price, McDonald; Henry, van La Parra; Afobe
Head To Head
Cardiff have lost three of their last four home games against Wolves, while the Midlanders have only failed to score once in their last 11 league trips to Cardiff.
Sako's first-half goal proved the difference when the teams last met earlier this year, helping Wanderers to a third successive league win.
The Bluebirds did record a comfortable 2-1 triumph at Molineux in 2013 on their way to promotion, however, in a campaign that ended with Wolves going the opposite way out of the division.
We say: Cardiff 1-1 Wolves
It has been a mixed bag of results for both sides so far in the early weeks of the season, but Wolves currently find themselves one point ahead of their opponents in the league table. Cardiff's inability to turn draws into wins may cost them as the campaign goes on, with another stalemate to come this weekend.
No Data Analysis info
