CARDIFF CITY v Q.P.R.
Saturday 12th August, 2023.
ko 3:00pm from CCS.
Erol Bulut
On the game: "I had the supporters live in Leeds, there were only 2,000 of them but they were great,” Erol began. “When the stadium is full this weekend, it will be a great atmosphere. They will all be fully behind us, to support and push the team, to get the three points that we are expecting.
“Everyone is expecting that it will be an easy game, but I don’t think so. No one game will be easy in this league. They did lose the first game 4-0 in Watford, but now against us, they will be much different on the field. We have to be prepared for that and we will be prepared for that. It doesn’t matter what’s put in front of us, we always think about getting the three points.”
“On Aaron Ramsey: Aaron grew up here. He played for City and made some great memories here. He moved away to Arsenal and now he’s back, he’s home. He wants to give back like he did when he was a child here in the team.
“For now, he looks great, he’s working hard, and you saw in the Leeds game how much work he put in. He covered a lot of metres, and he was fighting, and on Saturday in front of a full house, it will be like starting here all over again. It’s like a new beginning for him.”
On Mark McGuinness: “He has everything that a top defender should have. He’s 22-years old, and I think in the following year or two, he will have so much more quality to him. He showed against Leeds how good he was, he played a great game. I hope he continues like this and to keep focusing on his targets, to be concentrated on every game, and if he carries on the way he is, he will be a top defender.
“He will have to take on more responsibility, and we will do that. On the field we have to have better communication, sometimes people will say he’s a young player, but it doesn’t matter on the field if you’re 22 or 32. With him being 22, he can and will take on a lot more responsibility.”
Match Facts:
- Cardiff have lost five of their last seven league matches against QPR (W1 D1) and failed to score against them in either meeting last season (D1 L1).
- Queens Park Rangers have won two of their last three league visits to Cardiff (D1), keeping a clean sheet in each of their last games at the Cardiff City Stadium.
- Cardiff have won just two of their last 15 home league games (D5 L8), beating Reading and Bristol City consecutively in February and March.
- Since Gareth Ainsworth's first permanent league game in charge of QPR in February, the Hoops have shipped the most goals in the Championship (29), losing 4-0 at Watford in their first league game this season.
- Following their 4-0 defeat to Watford in their first league game of the season, QPR are looking to avoid losing their first two games of a season for only the third time this century, doing so in 2014-15 and 2018-19.
Match Officials:
Referee: OLIVER LANGFORD
Assistants: Hristo Karaivanov and Graham Kane
Fourth Official: Tom Reeves