Assessing Cardiff City’s chances in the Premier League

As the Premier League gets underway for the 2018/2019 season, we’ve taken a look at Wales’s only representative in the top tier – Cardiff City – and how the club will shape up for what looks set to be 38 games of gruelling competitive football.

Cardiff City is one team who have come out of nowhere, since they outperformed everyone’s expectations in the last Championship season where they scored a total of 69 goals. They now find themselves being promoted for the first time in five years under the guidance of their relatively new coach, Neil Warnock.

Since being the only team representing Wales in the Premier League this season, they’ll certainly be hoping to outdo their 20^th ranking performance in the 2013-2014 season, which was the first time they played in the top-tier for 52 years. Even though our national team didn’t make it to the World Cup this year, Wales has an altogether different reason to cheer on the boys.

So how did Cardiff City get back into the Premiership this time around? Well, the team managed to break a club record by winning their opening three league games of a season, the first time in the club’s 107-year professional history. Many people say this is down to the fiery and magical tutelage of Neil Warnock.

With a volcanic temper, he has steered them away from relegation by crafting a solid side since he took over the reins in 2016. Warnock has managed to do this with moderate talent, although it should be said Cardiff City does have premium talent in Sol Bamba and captain Sean Morrison, who were both pivotal in helping them to 27 wins in the Championship season, where they ended up against eventual Premier League winners Manchester City.

How will they do in this premier league season?

It will be challenging for Cardiff City, by all accounts, their most significant achievement will be to avoid getting relegated. Even though they have spent £28.5 million in summer transfers, which included Bobby Reid, Greg Cunningham, Josh Murphy and Alex Smithies, a lot of those players have no experience in the top tier. Experts say that will have to perform as the sum of their parts rather than relying on any one star player.

However, there are several players who will be relied upon for their top-tier experience this season, one of them being Iceland’s captain Aron Gunnarsson. He holds 258 appearances for the club since 2011 and is lauded for his performance as a defensive midfielder.

The other is Sol Bamba, who might be Neil Warnock’s best decision as a coach, he’s been described as a titan on the pitch. He’s placed goals in almost every important game in the Championship season.

Junior Hoilett is also one name that keeps re-appearing on the best player list for Cardiff. Will he be a threat in the Premier League? That remains to be seen. But we do know that the Canadian is an unselfish player, securing 11 goal winning assists in the Championship season plus 11 goals altogether for the club.

Looking at their prior Championship season Cardiff City only conceded 39 goals, the joint-best in the division, so they know how to hold opponents to account. They play with heart and that’s what has got them this far.

Verdict: Warnock’s men are strong, imposing and well organised but will they be good enough to place themselves in a respectable finish? We will have to wait and see.