Cardiff vs Mansfield Town Prediction
Cardiff Look Too Strong for Slumping Mansfield
Preview
Right then, let's have a proper gander at this League One clash down at Cardiff. The Bluebirds are flying high in second place with 29 points, while Mansfield are struggling a bit in 13th on 22 points. There's a proper gap between these two sides at the moment, and it shows when you look at the recent form.
Cardiff have been a bit up and down lately, but they're getting the job done more often than not. They picked up a decent 3-1 win at Northampton in their last league game, and before that, they beat Reading 2-1 at home. They've had some shockers though - losing 1-0 at Bolton and getting turned over 3-1 by Blackpool. Still, at home, they've been proper decent, winning 2 of their last 3 on their own patch.
Mansfield, on the other hand, seem to be losing their way a bit. They've only picked up one point from their last three league games - getting hammered 3-1 at home by Huddersfield, drawing 0-0 with Peterborough, and losing 2-1 at Northampton. Their away form's been nothing special either, with just one win in their last four trips on the road.
When you look at the stats, Cardiff are averaging 1.67 goals per game at home this season, while Mansfield are letting in 1.5 goals per game away from home. Both teams tend to score in most matches too - Cardiff have seen both teams score in 60% of their recent games, while Mansfield are at 70%.
The head-to-head doesn't tell us much with only two meetings back in 2018, but Cardiff did win 4-1 in the last one. Still, you can't read too much into that after all this time.
Looking at the betting odds, Cardiff are favorites at 1.80 for the home win, which seems about right given the league positions and recent form. Mansfield are 3.90 for the upset, which looks a bit skinny for a team that's been struggling recently.
The both teams to score market catches my eye at 1.67. Cardiff's defence isn't exactly watertight - they've only kept one clean sheet in their last 10 games - and Mansfield have been finding the net regularly even in defeat. With Cardiff scoring freely at home and Mansfield capable of nicking one, this looks like it could be a proper open game.