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Cardiff City and Reading do battle in Wales tomorrow evening in the second-leg of their Championship play-off tie.
With a Wembley final to come for the winners, there is a lot at stake for both teams as they look to secure promotion to the Premier League.
With the first-leg finishing 0-0, Cardiff’s home advantage tomorrow evening makes them favourites to progress. They know that a win on home soil guarantees them a place in the final.
Referring back to the first game for a moment, it is worth mentioning that it was a game of few chances for either side. There was little to choose between them and the general feeling was that both managers were simply determined not to lose ground going into the second game.
In fairness to Cardiff, there attacking threat was quashed somewhat when Craig Bellamy limped off after just 17 minutes. From this moment on, they would have taken a 0-0 draw.
As for Reading, they will be disappointed not to be taking a lead to Wales tomorrow evening, but without a defeat in eight league games on the road, they will know they are capable of picking up victory.
Looking at the tie as a whole, it will be interesting to see how each manager approaches this second-leg. They were both relatively reserved in the first game, but with victory needed this time, they can ill afford to sit back too much.
We could perhaps be in for a very different game with both teams going for goals from the first whistle. Cardiff are naturally an attacking side at home after all, while Reading might consider attack as the best form of defence.
Reading will look at Cardiff’s last home game as an example of how the Welsh side is capable of crumbling under the pressure when the opposition attacks them from the off.
Needing a win to keep their automatic promotion dreams alive, Dave Jones’ men were hammered 3-0 at the hands of Middlesbrough and subsequently handed 2nd spot to Norwich. It was a dark day for the club and a performance the home fans were far from happy with.
Cardiff will be keen to forget the Middlesbrough game though and prove to their fans that they have what it takes to progress to the Premier League. It is now or never for them.
Looking at the team news for this one, the biggest concern for Cardiff is the fitness of Bellamy who missed the majority of the first-leg with a hamstring injury. The club may well make a last minute decision on their skipper.
Reading have no fresh injury concerns and could name the same side that played out the 0-0 draw at the Madejski Stadium.
Overall, this is going to be an extremely competitive match between two teams that it is hard to choose between. Home advantage could pay dividends for Cardiff, but the extra pressure it puts on them could let in Reading. Game on.
