Sheffield United vs Cardiff City Prediction 9 January 2025

🔊 Which Championship team will advance to the FA Cup Round of 16? Sheffield United is considered the favorite for the upcoming match. This is largely because they will host Cardiff at Bramall Lane. The winner will be determined here, as replays in the FA Cup have been canceled in case of a draw. We will consider various options to make the prediction optimal.

📊 Head-to-head

Over a span of 22 head-to-head matches, Sheffield United has the advantage with 45% of victories. This season, they have already defeated Cardiff in the Championship. The match took place three weeks ago in Wales. In the second half, Kieffer Moore scored twice, setting the final score. The "Blades" have been stronger in five consecutive head-to-head matches. Therefore, a Sheffield victory seems inevitable.

🔴 Sheffield United

Sheffield United is one of the contenders for promotion to the Premier League. They are in third place in the Championship, but have the same number of points as Burnley and are narrowly behind Leeds. The team has a solid points cushion relative to most pursuers, so they should at least make the playoffs. However, after defeating Cardiff, the "Blades" gained just one point in the next three rounds. Nonetheless, they managed to break this streak a few days ago with a victory over Watford (2:1). Sheffield United will play their first FA Cup match. Before this, they were quickly eliminated from the League Cup, losing to Barnsley from League One. Note that Oliver Arblaster and Harry Souttar will not play in the upcoming match due to injuries.

🔵 Cardiff

The team, which relatively recently played in the Premier League, risks leaving the Championship. They are in the relegation zone with 23 points after 25 matches. However, it is quite tight at the bottom of the standings, so a couple of wins might be enough to escape the danger zone. On the other hand, Cardiff has succeeded in just one out of their last 12 matches. In late December, they defeated Watford (2:1). In January, they have not lost yet, drawing with Coventry City (1:1) and Middlesbrough (1:1). Note that the team participated in the League Cup and was eliminated by Southampton in an extremely high-scoring match (3:5). They conceded two goals in injury time. Aaron Ramsey plays for Cardiff. However, the Wales national team player is injured and has only played in four matches this season. Kion Etete has recovered and appeared in just one reserve match. Currently, he is gaining form, so he is unlikely to take the field.

⚽️ Goal Prediction

Cardiff has scored away in six consecutive matches. However, during this stretch, they have not kept a clean sheet once. Therefore, as a potential bet, we suggest - both teams to score (Yes).

🚩 Corner Prediction

In matches involving Cardiff, there are an average of 9.8 corners. In 7 out of their last 8 games, more than 10 corner kicks were not taken. In their recent head-to-head meeting, the opponents earned a total of eight corners. Therefore, it is logical to assume that the upcoming match will be low-scoring in this aspect. We suggest betting on total corners under 10.5.

📝 Match Prediction

Sheffield United is the favorite for the upcoming match, supported by head-to-head statistics. Moreover, they recently defeated Cardiff away. However, the Welsh team has not lost by more than one goal difference in 8 out of their last 9 away head-to-head matches. Therefore, we propose a potential exact score of 2:1.

Sheffield United is not in their best form in recent matches. Even their victory over Watford cannot be considered confident based on their play. The FA Cup is a different tournament where Cardiff, as an outsider in the Championship, can show themselves and at least score. Therefore, our key bet is - both teams to score (Yes). Moreover, this bet has played out in six away matches for the "Bluebirds".