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Cardiff City are fighting for their Championship survival at the foot of the table as they prepare to take on West Brom on Saturday with both sides having interim managers in the dugout.
Cardiff City remain three points adrift of safety in the Championship table after their recent stalemate against Oxford United and a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United.
Cardiff’s Championship relegation battle has been marred by managerial controversy, with Omer Riza recently departing the club, after the under-pressure head coach made some controversial comments claiming he was “happy” to lose his job.
Riza’s comments came after Neil Warnock was lined up to replace him, but the burden has fallen to former midfielder Aaron Ramsey on interim basis until the end of the season, in a decision brandished as “weird” by his ex-teammate Robert Earnshaw.
Saturday’s opponents West Brom parted ways with Tony Mowbray this week, after their play-off hopes died off, and Championship experts have had their say on which managerless side will win this weekend.
Cardiff City get pundit’s backing for clash vs West Brom
Interim Bluebirds boss Ramsey has big demands for his players, taking over the caretaker post days after Riza was removed from his role, with their chances of survival dwindling.
West Brom on the other hand, have drifted from promotion-hopefuls to mid-table despite Mowbray’s return, with their defeat to Derby County ending their play-off hopes.
Much like Riza, Mowbray left with some choice words, with the veteran head coach publicly slamming his players days before his sacking, and has also received from backlash from Baggies fans for “disgraceful” comments singling out forward Daryl Dike days before his sacking.
With both sides enduring controversial times in their respective Championship seasons, and the two sides fielding interim head coaches in Ramsey and James Morrison respectively, victory for Cardiff over the Baggies may not be enough to stem the relegation tide.
In their latest Championship Check-in podcast, EFL pundits Benjamin Bloom and Sam Parkin backed the Bluebirds to earn much-needed points, that may not be enough for survival.
Bloom said: “Cardiff versus West Brom, Cardiff have to win this one, potentially they are relegated if they do not.”
Parkin replied: “Well they nearly got the 1-0 the other day and I like the 1-0 here, West Brom struggling for goals. To take it to the last game, even if it’s not going to end in survival, I’ll take Cardiff to win this 1-0.”
Predicting an “unhelpful” result for Ramsey’s side, Bloom said: “I have thought Cardiff are going to do a home win in this run and they keep having unhelpful draws, so I’m going to predict the most unhelpful of unhelpful draws which may, if they end round 45 with 44 points relegate them,
“I’m going to go 1-1 and maybe Cardiff are going to be throwing the kitchen sink at it at the end and they’re just not going to be able to get that goal.”
Tony Mowbray’s sacking by West Brom offers Cardiff City hope
Cardiff’s hopes of survival are dwindling, with the Bluebirds on the brink of a financial abyss, if the stark reality of League One demotion comes true. Many Cardiff supporters believe it is “too little too late” and are destined for the third tier.
With West Brom now tenth in the table, their play-off hopes are dead in the water, and thus their last two fixtures against Cardiff and then at Luton Town on the final day are inconsequential to their season.
That lack of Baggies impetus bodes well for Ramsey’s side, who sit 23rd on 43 points ahead of Saturday’s round of fixtures, above rock-bottom Plymouth Argyle on goal difference but three points adrift of safety with two to go.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 20 |  Hull CityHull City | 44 | 12 | 12 | 20 | 43 | 52 | -9 | 48 |
| 21 |  DerbyDerby | 44 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 47 | 56 | -9 | 46 |
| 22 |  LutonLuton | 44 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 41 | 64 | -23 | 46 |
| 23 |  CardiffCardiff | 44 | 9 | 16 | 19 | 46 | 69 | -23 | 43 |
| 24 |  PlymouthPlymouth | 44 | 10 | 13 | 21 | 48 | 85 | -37 | 43 |
Ramsey’s Bluebirds need maximum points whilst relying on Hull City to beat Derby County, and also Luton to be beaten by top-six hopefuls Coventry City, which would leave the relegation-threatened trio all on 46 points and all to play for on the monumental final day.