Birmingham City boss Wayne Rooney may be on his last legs, with a defeat to Cardiff tonight possibly signalling the end of his time with the Blues.
The Manchester United top scorer was appointed Birmingham boss in October, taking over from John Eustace who had guided his side to sixth in the table.
It has not been the fairy tale start in England’s second city for Rooney, who was coming off two good performances as bosses of Derby County and D.C United. He gained just one point in his first five games, dropping from 6th to 18th in a short amount of time.
Things have not gotten better for Wayne Rooney, and Cardiff City welcome the Blues to Wales’ capital at the perfect time. They have won just one game since Rooney took over, and are coming off a disappointing 2-0 loss to Coventry City on the weekend. They currently sit at 17th in the table, with Rooney’s job looking less and less secure as the weeks progress.
Meanwhile, it has been a shocking season for Cardiff, but in a much more positive sense. After two seasons of managerial merry-go-rounds and relegation battles, Turkish boss Erol Bulut has surprised the league by guiding Cardiff to 7th in the Championship, following Saturday’s 1-0 win at home against Millwall.
Talismanic midfielder Aaron Ramsey continues to miss out for the Bluebirds due to injury, while Calum O’Dowda is still an injury worry for Bulut. However, this doesn’t even come close to the issues Birmingham has, with Wayne Rooney’s side missing seven players for the trip to the Cardiff City Stadium.
Birmingham as missing seven first team players for the Cardiff City vs Birmingham match, including:
- Cody Drameh
- George Hall
- Ethan Laird
- Kevin Long
- Keshi Anderson
- Tyler Roberts
- Alfie Chang
This has caused havoc for the team selection, but is ideal for a Cardiff side still hoping to challenge for the top-six this season. Despite scoring the least out of the top-eight this season, Bulut’s side will go seventh with victory tonight, with a 5-0 win enough to send them above Sunderland in fifth, on goal difference.
While their form has faltered (Cardiff have only one two in their last six matches), the home tie against Birmingham could be the perfect chance for the Bluebirds to pick up another three points and carry on the momentum for a busy festive period.
Goals have been an issue for City this season, which is why Kieffer Moore looks set to return to the club in January. As well as this, a non-league future superstar is also being chased by the Bluebirds, which you read about here.
