Cardiff City

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Cardiff City's EFL Cup second-round tie with Premier League club Southampton will be played on Wednesday, 28 August at the Cardiff City Stadium (19:45 BST).

The Bluebirds have a Championship derby at rivals Swansea City next Sunday (15:00 BST).

Their following league game is at home against Middlesbrough on Saturday, August 31 (12:30 BST).

Southampton, managed by former Swansea boss Russell Martin, are one of the 13 Premier League clubs not participating in European competitions who enter the League Cup at this stage.

Cardiff booked their place in round two with a 2-0 home win over Bristol Rovers.

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Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut says he is hopeful of more transfer activity for the Bluebirds before the transfer window closes.

Bulut says the need to sign players is irrespective of the severity of injuries to midfielders Joe Ralls and Aaron Ramsey.

Ralls, the Cardiff captain, limped off in the first half of Cardiff’s 5-0 defeat at Burnley, while Ramsey was limping at the end of the match and could not continue.

“I hope the injuries to Aaron Ramsey and Joe Ralls aren’t so serious,” Bulut told BBC Radio Wales.

On the transfer front, Bulut said: “I hope we can get somebody in. We will see.

“We need players in a few positions. We need players who can come off the bench and change the game.

“We are not finished with transfers, we will try to make a few more.”

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Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut says he cannot offer any clarity on the situation of defender Mark McGuinness.

McGuinness has been linked with a move away from the Cardiff City Stadium, with Luton interested in the former Arsenal player.

McGuinness scored in Cardiff's win in the EFL Cup in midweek but did not travel with the Bluebirds for their 5-0 thumping at Burnley.

Bulut says he can offer no update on the situation.

“I don’t want to talk too much about Mark McGuinness. Let’s see and wait what will happen," he said.

“It is possible he was left out because of that [a possible transfer].

“I cannot tell you if we have accepted an offer or not. The board can tell you more things about that."

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Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut says his side "must forget as quickly as possible" their 5-0 thrashing at Burnley as they look ahead to the south Wales derby.

Cardiff could be bottom of the Championship table when they face bitter rivals Swansea in their next match on Sunday, 25 August.

Bulut says his side must shrug off the disappointment of being humbled at Turf Moor and feels his side can still have a good season.

“We have to forget this game as quickly as possible. It is good this happened at the start of the season. We can still change everything," he said.

“I believe we have a good team here so we try to build on what we did last year.

“We dominated the first half against a team who got relegated from the Premier League.

“We forget this game and look to next week which is a derby.

“We have shown we can play good football. Only the goals are missing. I hope next week we can show that."

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Turf Moor has not been a happy hunting ground for Cardiff City, who last won an away fixture against Burnley back in 1988.

In 16 visits since then, Cardiff have managed eight draws and been beaten on another eight occasions.

If they are to change the record this weekend, the Bluebirds will need to overcome a Burnley side who are widely expected to be among the leading promotion contenders in the Championship this season.

Having been relegated from the Premier League last term, the Clarets lost manager Vincent Kompany to Bayern Munich in the summer, while his assistant Craig Bellamy departed to become Wales head coach.

But they began life under new boss Scott Parker – who has twice won promotion from the Championship as a coach – in spectacular fashion last Monday as they demolished Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.

Having been given a bye in round one of the Carabao Cup, Parker’s men will play their second game of the new campaign against Cardiff.

The Welsh club are looking for their first points of the season following an opening-day defeat against Sunderland, with boss Erol Bulut expecting a stern challenge in Lancashire.

“Burnley are a strong team,” he said.

“They had a strong team two years ago when they got promoted, then in the Premier League they added a lot of quality players.

“Some players have left but they are still a really strong candidate to go up again, but we will go to Burnley to take our chance.”

Cardiff have injury issues for Burnley, with David Turnbull joining Jamilu Collins, Isaak Davies and Kion Etete on the sidelines.

Anwar El Ghazi is not yet fit following his summer move to Wales, while there are doubts over Callum Robinson and Cian Ashford.

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Erol Bulut says Cardiff City must be patient with Alex Robertson as the midfielder builds fitness following his move from Manchester City.

Robertson made his Bluebirds debut in the midweek EFL Cup win over Bristol Rovers.

The 21-year-old, who played for just under an hour as Cardiff reached round two, joined the Championship club earlier this month in a deal which could be worth £3m.

Bulut was impressed with Australia international Robertson’s contribution, but says he is short of peak condition.

“We saw if he has the ball in the last third or the middle of third, his passes, [he can make] key passes [and also have] shots from distance which we need,” Bulut said.

“And also his work-rate. He had some very good defensive runs where he fought for the ball.

“But we don’t forget it was his first game for many weeks, so we have to get him to a good level where he can start a few game for us.”

Robertson was an unused substitute as Cardiff were beaten by Sunderland in their opening game of the Championship season last weekend.

He could make his first appearance in the second tier when Bulut’s men go to Burnley on Saturday.

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The 2024 summer proved to be an eventful one for the O'Dowda household.

Republic of Ireland winger Callum O'Dowda continued his recovery from a groin injury in a bid to ensure he was able to be a prominent figure for Cardiff City this season.

But the 29-year-old and his family also had their eyes glued to the television as the versatile full-back's 24-year-old sister Jade O'Dowda competed for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the Olympics.

Jade O'Dowda - a bronze medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games - earned a total of 6,280 points to finish 10th in the women's heptathlon in Paris.

And her older brother could not hide his joy with his sister's performance in France following what has been a gruelling year for the athlete.

"Over the last six months, it's been the journey of her trying to get to the Olympics and then getting there and then competing," said Cardiff man O'Dowda.

"What people didn't see is all of the stuff she had to go through prior to it. 

"She was managing stuff and it was all of the stress and pressure to deliver, and she did. I'm so proud of her.

"She's been on some journey, from me dragging her over to the park to play football and running, then to her doing it on the Olympic stage. 

"I wish I could have gone, but with the timings of the football I couldn't make it. But I'm mega proud of her.

"My parents went over to watch her and we had all of the family round my house, all of us were shouting at the TV.

"She did really well to get 10th, for her age as well. She can have a bit of time to relax and have a holiday now."

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Cardiff City will be hoping for a repeat of last season's home match against Southampton, after drawing Russell Martin's side in round two of the Carabao Cup.

Cardiff will host the Saints in the week commencing 26 August.

After a 2-0 away defeat earlier in season 2023-24, the Bluebirds then won in the Welsh capital against the Saints 2-1 in April, thanks to an added-time winner from 19 year old Cian Ashford (pictured).

It was sweet revenge for fans of the Welsh side, after enduring a five finger taunt from former Swansea boss Martin - a gesture highlighting the number of times he had beaten them as a manager - four as Swansea coach.

Martin's Southampton would go on to win promotion to the Premier League, beating Leeds in the Championship play off final at Wembley.

They begin their top flight campaign at Newcastle on Saturday.

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Cardiff City are poised to send three of their young players out on loan.

Wingers Raheem Conte and Kieron Evans, along with centre-back Malaki Fagan-Walcott are to be loaned out for first team experience.

They will follow in the footsteps of Joel Colwill, who scored twice on his debut for Cheltenham Town in their 3-2 League Two win over Newport County last weekend.

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut and his coaching staff have made decisions on some of the younger Bluebirds in the wake of Tuesday's 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Bristol Rovers.

Conte made his first competitive start in that game, having had three outings as a substitute last term.

Brithdir-product Evans, 22, who had a loan spell at National League club Gateshead last season, was a second half substitute against Rovers.

He signed a new contract in the summer having previously had loan stints at Torquay United and Linfield.

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Fagan-Walcott, 22, was also a second half replacement in the league cup tie and is set for another spell away having been on loan at Scottish club Dunfermline last season.

Manager Bulut said: “I think Raheem needs a loan, Malaki Fagan-Walcott also needs a loan to come back much stronger.

“With Kieron Evans I would like to have him play continuously and without injuries for one season.”

He added other young players would also be sent out before the summer transfer window shuts on 30 August.

Last season Cardiff sent 16 players out on a loan and believe it is far more beneficial for them to go elsewhere, rather than remain in-house to be squad fringe players and play largely under-21 matches.

Bulut cited the examples of Isaac Davies, who caught the eye in pre-season after a season’s loan at Belgian club Kortrijk, only to suffer a hamstring tear which will sideline him for four months.

Defender Joel Bagan has also impressed after his loan at the Belgian Pro League club S.V. Zulte Waregem. He was on the bench against Sunderland and played the 90 minutes against Rovers.

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Cardiff City fear Scottish midfielder David Turnbull could be set for a month on the side lines.

Former Motherwell player Turnbull, 25, joined from Celtic last January.

He suffered a groin injury in the warm-up ahead of Cardiff City's 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Bristol Rovers at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday night.

He missed the game with young midfielder Eli King being promoted from the bench.

Turnbull is due to have more medical examinations today, with Bluebirds boss Erol Bulut fearing he could be out for four weeks.

“I think it looks like one month out. He had a shot at goal in the warm up and then he felt a pain in his adductor," Bulut said.

“We will see from the scan but I hope it is not something too serious.”

Cardiff head to Burnley on Saturday looking for their first points of the season and also have a worry over striker Callum Robinson who netted six goals in pre-season.

Irish international Robinson suffered a kick on his Achilles in the opening 2-0 home defeat by Sunderland.

Bulut said: “Callum trained individually today. Tomorrow he will have a session to see if he is available or not on Saturday.”

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Rubin Colwill is well aware there are some in football who are still waiting for him to fully exploit his vast potential.

But the Cardiff City forward is just concentrating on trying to improve, believing the hard work will pay off.

The 22-year-old Wales international said: “I don’t take any notice to be honest.

“I want every season to be my breakout season, the one where I go and score 20 goals and get 20 assists.

“But I think I just have to work myself to be the best I can be, have that sort of confidence that things will work out.

“When the time is right, the time is right, and I will start every game and I will be scoring every week. But that has to come by improving and working hard and trying to get myself in the best place possible with my football.”

Colwill opened his goal account for the season by helping Cardiff wrap up a 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Bristol Rovers.

Cardiff manager Erol Bulut felt Colwill should have had more goals but said: “He is a great player and he can be much, much better. He has to change a few things, but we will try to push him on to this level.

“Rubin is a player, when you put him for 20 minutes on the pitch, he tries to make 90 minutes in 20 minutes. This he has to manage much better."

Colwill believes Bulut’s coaching advice has already paid dividends.

“You can look at when he (Bulut) first came in at the start of last season to the player I am now," Colwill said.

“The patience and tactical awareness of where to be and timing of movement - things I was not very good at before – has really improved. That has come from him telling me what he wants from me.”

New attack coach Omer Riza has also been of benefit as Colwill looks to build on a more effective campaign last season, when he made 41 appearances for club and country, following an injury-hampered spell.

"I felt I had a really good year playing and training really well, I was obviously missing the goal in the numbers side of the game but I think that comes with practice and experience," he added.

“Maybe early on in my career I scored a few more goals which I probably did not deserve, now I think it is the other way around. I would much rather it be this way – I am playing well and not getting the final touch.

“It’s a little sort of thing that has to change. (Against Rovers) I should have scored three or four, that tiny little difference can make a massive difference on the pitch.”

It has not all been plain sailing for Colwill at international level, either.

The Neath-born product earned the first of his eight caps against France in June 2021.

But after a World Cup appearance in the 3-0 defeat by England in Qatar in 2022, Colwill was moved into the Under-21s, until June’s goalless draw with Gibraltar, played in Portugal.

That was Rob Page’s penultimate game at the helm and now Colwill has to impress new boss Craig Bellamy to force his way back into the senior international reckoning on a regular basis.

Colwill is no stranger to Bellamy. He coached the striker when in charge of Cardiff’s youth team and there was a chance meeting between the pair on the day Bellamy was unveiled as Wales manager.

"We talked about things from the past, a couple of games against Burnley (where Bellamy was a coach) when they sort of gave me the run around. He was having a joke about that.

“I know Craig really well he knows me really well from the under-18s. He is a good coach and it's exciting for Wales.

“I would love to be back in. It's everybody’s dream to play for their country.”

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Cardiff City turn their attention to an EFL Cup tie against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday evening, but a victory on home soil would be a welcome boost to their new Championship campaign.

The Bluebirds will start as favourites when they host League One Rovers in the first knockout game of 2024-25.

And a win on their own patch would be welcome after Cardiff were beaten 2-0 at home by Sunderland on the opening day of the new league season.

Strong home form is nearly always the foundation for a positive campaign – and Iwan Roberts reckons Cardiff must improve in the Welsh capital.

“That's four defeats in their last five at the Cardiff City Stadium,” the former Wales striker told this week’s Feast of Football podcast.

“They've scored one goal or less in 14 of their last 24 home games. They only scored 27 goals in 23 home league games last season.”

After Rovers, Cardiff go on their travels to Burnley next Saturday, before the making the short trip to Swansea City eight days later.

Their next two home games after the derby are against Middlesbrough and Leeds United, two sides being tipped to compete for promotion this season.

The EFL Cup may not be especially significant to Cardiff, but getting back into the winning habit on home soil before those two well-fancied sides visit would do Erol Bulut’s team no harm.

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It is one of the proudest moments in Cardiff City's recent history, the day they almost shocked Premier League giants Liverpool in the 2012 EFL Cup final.

Malky Mackay's Bluebirds team took Liverpool all the way to penalties at Wembley, with defender Ben Turner sending Cardiff fans into raptures when he equalised two minutes from the end of extra time to force a penalty shootout.

Liverpool won 3-2 on penalties, but it was still a day to cherish for City fans with Joe Mason (remember him?) opening the scoring for Cardiff before Martin Skrtel and Dirk Kuyt netted for Kenny Dalglish's team.

Yet as they prepare for the start of another League Cup campaign, against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday, Cardiff fans will be wary that they've struggled to live up to that unforgettable day at Wembley ever since.

Only three times have they made it beyond round two since 2012 - last season, when they lost 5-2 at Blackburn in round three, and 2014-15, when they were beaten 3-0 at home to Bournemouth.

Their poor record over the past 12 years includes several disappointing losses to lower-league sides, including two round-one defeats to Northampton Town, and a first-round exit at the hands of Bristol Rovers in 2016-17.

Cardiff's EFL Cup exits since 2012:

2012-13: Round one v Northampton Town

2013-14: Round three v West Ham

2014-15: Round three v Bournemouth

2015-16: Round two v MK Dons

2016-17: Round one v Bristol Rovers

2017-18: Round two v Burton Albion

2018-19: Round two (entered at this stage) v Norwich

2019-20: Round two (entered at this stage) v Luton Town

2020-21: Round one: Northampton Town

2021-22: Round two v Brighton

2022-23: Round one v Portsmouth

2023-24: Round three v Blackburn Rovers

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Midfielder Alex Robertson could make his Cardiff City debut in Tuesday's EFL Cup tie against Bristol Rovers - with chances, too, for some of the club's youngsters.

Robertson was an unused substitute as Cardiff opened their Championship campaign with a 2-0 home defeat to Sunderland.

But fans are likely to get their first glimpse of the recent signing from Manchester City when the Bluebirds host League One Rovers in the first round of the cup.

"Alex Robertson, [Wilfried] Kanga and other young players...let's see," said Erol Bulut when asked who could feature.

"We will try to use young players and new players on Tuesday. To give them more minutes."

Anwar El Ghazi is another summer recruit waiting to make his Cardiff debut, though it is unclear whether he will be ready for the Rovers tie. Bulut said last week the winger was still building up fitness.

There could be first appearances of the season for academy graduates such as forward Cian Ashford and midfielder Raheem Conte.

Ashford made his debut in last season's opening EFL Cup tie - a penalty shootout win over Colchester - while Conte's first appearance came in a 2-1 Championship win over Southampton, where Ashford hit the winner.

Asked why Ashford was not involved against Sunderland, Bulut said: "He had a small issue as he played with the under-21s.

"Kanga played 20, 25 minutes [as a substitute against Sunderland], he needs a little bit more time.

"We will use mostly players who played less or didn't play [on Saturday]. We want to win the game and continue in the cup."

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Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut expects it to take time to build up the fitness of Wales captain Aaron Ramsey.

Ramsey played 90 minutes for Cardiff in their opening day defeat to Sunderland, something he struggled to do very often last season as he was beset by injury issues.

“First of all we have to be happy that he played 90 minutes,” Bulut said.

“First of all he has to stay healthy. We know he had been out for four months.

“He tried a lot today and worked hard. We have to work to make sure we mostly have Aaron on the field to play for us.

“He can play every week but every week two or three times? That we will have to manage.

“Aaron wants to be fit for the team.”

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Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut says the club “must” continue to add to their squad until the close of the transfer window.

Bulut gave debuts to Calum Chambers and Chris Willock in Cardiff’s 2-0 defeat to Sunderland, while striker Wilfried Kanga was introduced from the substitutes’ bench.

However, Bulut says he still expects to add to his ranks before 30 August.

“We have to, we are looking and negotiating with a few positions where we have need,” Bulut said.

“I hope shortly we can finalise two or three.

“We would like to have had some players in earlier, but the market is not so easy.

“We still have good quality players that we are targeting.”

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Cardiff City boss Erol Bulut says defender Mark McGuinness remains a Bluebird “for now”.

McGuinness has a minor hamstring injury and did not feature in Cardiff’s opening day 2-0 defeat to Sunderland, in a move Bulut says was unrelated to transfer speculation.

Luton Town, relegated from the Premier League last season, are believed to be leading the chase for McGuinness, who Cardiff signed from Arsenal in 2021.

“He had also a hamstring injury before, so he only trained with us for one-and-a-half days," Bulut said.

“Today we did not have a centre-back problem, our two centre-backs were good today.

“McGuinness will continue to be a Cardiff player for now and for this I am happy.”

BBC Wales Sport reporter Michael Pearlman gives his view after seeing Cardiff City lose their opening game of the Championship season to Sunderland.