New loan signing Yanic Wildschut comes into the Cardiff squad as Sunderland manager Chris Coleman returns to Wales, live on Sky Sports Football from 12pm on Saturday.
Dutch winger Wildschut's arrival on loan until the end of the season is timely for promotion-chasing Cardiff given their extensive injury list.
Craig Bryson and Kadeem Harris have returned to training but are unlikely to be risked against the Sky Bet Championship's bottom club. Lee Peltier, Matthew Connolly, Aron Gunnarsson and Danny Ward remain out with medium to long-term injuries.
Loan signing Jake Clarke-Salter could go straight into the Sunderland team after completing his temporary switch from Chelsea. The 20-year-old central defender arrived amid an injury crisis and is likely to be thrown in at the deep end by Coleman, who left the Wales job in November to take over at Sunderland.
Full-back Adam Matthews is back in training after a calf problem, and he will be assessed along with Paddy McNair (groin), Aiden McGeady (calf) and Lynden Gooch (hamstring).
Lamine Kone (knee) and Didier Ndong (ankle) have also returned to training, although the game will come too soon, and Jonny Williams (shoulder) is due to join them next week, but Darron Gibson (groin), Lee Cattermole (thigh), Jack Rodwell (hamstring) and Duncan Watmore (knee) are still out.
Opta stats
Cardiff have not done a Football League double over Sunderland since the 1970/71 season - the Bluebirds won 2-1 at the Stadium of Light earlier this campaign.
Sunderland have won two of their last three away league trips to Cardiff (D1), with this their first Championship visit there since March 2007, a 1-0 win via a Ross Wallace goal.
Neil Warnock has lost four of his five home league matches as manager against Sunderland - he won the other in September 2004 as Sheffield United boss.
Welshman Chris Coleman has managed eight Football League matches against Welsh sides and won none (D3 L5), with this his first since a 2-1 defeat to Cardiff in March 2010 as Coventry manager.
Cardiff have lost their last four league matches, which is Warnock's worst run as a manager since January 2009 when he was Crystal Palace boss (also a run of four) - he hasn't lost five consecutively since August 1995 (one with Huddersfield, four with Plymouth).
The Black Cats have kept clean sheets in three of their last four away league games - as many as in their previous 40 combined; they haven't won back to back away league games without conceding since March 2007, with the second of those wins coming against Cardiff.
Match officials
Referee: ANDREW MADLEY
Assistants: Mark Russell and Steven Meredith
Fourth Official: Oliver Langford