Cardiff City v Leicester City
Cardiff City Stadium
Saturday 3rd November 2018, ko 3:00pm.
An emotional day at CCS as Leicester City take to the field less than a week since the KP Stadium tragedy.
Early team news:
Cardiff welcome back Harry Arter for Leicester's visit to the Welsh capital.
Arter has recovered from an ankle injury which forced him to miss the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool last weekend, but Jazz Richards is out with a knock picked up in training and Joe Ralls completes a three-match ban
Daniel Amartey will miss the trip to Cardiff. The 23-year-old midfielder suffered a serious ankle injury during the home draw with West Ham last weekend and he is set to be sidelined for around four months after undergoing surgery.
Captain Wes Morgan is available again after serving a ban, while Matty James resumed training this week after a long-term Achilles problem.
The Managers:
Neil Warnock:
"I don't think anybody knows what the situation is going to be this week. It is surreal.
"We have prepared as well as we can but I haven't got a clue what is going to happen on the pitch.
"Football pales into insignificance when you see what has happened and how important life is. Tragedies such as this are so few and far between that they do hit home.
"It is going to be a difficult time for both teams and supporters.
"I think our fans have been fantastic. They have done a giant flag with the Thai emblem to be passed around and it will be quite emotional for our fans.
"Things like this unite supporters.
"Sean Morrison had a couple of meetings with me, to make sure it was appropriate for the Leicester players.
"There will be tributes - our chairman, in particular, wanted to pay tribute from Vincent (Tan, owner) and everyone at the club.
"We will have a minute's silence and a moment to reflect. Then, somehow, two teams have to get on with a game of football.
"It is an important game but it seems irrelevant really, talking about the game, when you see the things that have happened this week."
Claude Puel:
“We play to honour a man who has done so much for our club.
“The result is not important but our desire, our actions, to give our best on the pitch, and to honour our chairman is the most important thing. The result is second.
“Our condition and focus is there. We will be ready.
“I hope we can find the good balance between conviction and emotion in this game. If we remain just on the emotion it will be difficult.
“I have confidence in them from when I saw them in training that they will give their best.”
Match Stats:
- Cardiff have lost just one of their last six meetings with Leicester in all competitions (W2 D3), with this their first match since March 2013 (1-1 in the Championship). They are also unbeaten in four home games against Leicester in all competitions (W1 D3), since a 2-3 defeat in the 2009-10 Championship play-offs.
- Warnock's side are looking to secure consecutive home top-flight wins in the same season for the first time since their last two home matches in the 1961-62 campaign.
- This will be Warnock's 22nd meeting with Leicester in all competitions (W8 D4 L9), and only his second in the top-flight, after his Crystal Palace side beat Nigel Pearson's Leicester 2-0 in September 2014.
- Leicester have won their last three top-flight meetings with Cardiff, by an aggregate score of 10-0. However, this is the first such meeting since April 1962 (Cardiff 0-4 Leicester). They have won six of their last eight Premier League games against promoted sides (D1 L1).
- Leicester have scored at least once in each of their last 12 Premier League games, though they've ended up losing more of these games than they've won (W5 D1 L6).
- None of Leicester's last 12 away Premier League games have finished level (W4 D0 L8).
The Officials:
Referee: Lee Probert
Assistants: Simon Beck, Andy Garratt
Fourth official: Andy Madley