Burnley vs Cardiff City predictions: Clarets can carry on flying
- Burnley opened the Championship season with a 4-1 win at Luton
- Cardiff were beaten 2-0 at home by Sunderland in their first game
- Recommended bet: Burnley/Burnley Half Time/Full Time
Burnley sent out a powerful reminder to the rest of the Championship with their thumping 4-1 win at Luton on Monday night, a result that will have grabbed Cardiff's attention ahead of Saturday’s meeting.
The relegated Clarets were outstanding under new boss Scott Parker and will expect to make it two wins out of two at home to Erol Bulut's visitors.
Team news
Burnley are still missing a handful of long-term players, among them Aaron Ramsey and Jordan Beyer. Midfielder Sander Berge is also a doubt though could be sold anyway.
Parker deployed a 4-2-3-1 set-up at Kenilworth Road and it is hard to see him changing the starting XI barring any knocks.
Cardiff boss Bulut changed his entire starting XI for Tuesday night's 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup. Among those who shone to push for starts at Turf Moor were Ronan Kpakio, Ruben Colwill, Alex Robertson, Michael Reindorf and Ollie Tanner.
The Bluebirds are without Anwar El-Ghazi, Jamilu Collins, Isaak Davies, Kion Etete and Callum Robinson.
The stats
Both teams have scored in 11 of Burnley's last 12 matches.
Cardiff have not won on their last 15 trips to Turf Moor, last triumphing there in 1960.
The Bluebirds have conceded 15 goals in their last five Championship matches and have lost seven of their last 10 league games.
Prediction
Injuries and a lack of goals look like they are going to cause some early-season teething problems for Cardiff and that spells danger heading to Turf Moor.
Erol Bulut's Bluebirds were not prolific last season anyway and the Turk is preaching a more direct style this season.
That did not work at home to Sunderland where they saw plenty of the ball but carved out few clear-cut chances and lost 2-0.
And if Burnley pick them off with their abundant pace as they did Luton on Monday, then it could be a long 90 minutes for the Welsh side.
Bulut is missing a lot of key players but also is yet to settle on his best team. Clarets' boss Parker has got a huge and talented squad at his disposal but probably already trusts the 11 he sent out at Kenilworth Road.
Burnley have an excellent historical home record against Cardiff, who leak too many goals.
Only three teams boasted a more inferior half-time record than Cardiff last season so take Burnley to boss this from the off and land the Half Time/Full Time selection.
