Newport County v. Cardiff City - Match Preview

Despite City having a weekend free of competitive action, Lennie Lawrence looks set to field a second-string Cardiff side that supporters have got used to in this Cup since the arrival of Sam Hammam to Ninian Park.

The small band of travelling Cardiff fans will be pleased to hear that Welsh under-21 international James Collins is likely to start at the heart of defence after being frozen out of first-team activity for some time by Lennie Lawrence. Other bigger names on show could be striker Gavin Gordon, who will be desperate to prove a point as he looks to get himself back into first-team contention. Jason Bowen could also be involved as he returns from a-long lay-off on the sidelines.

The majority of the team is likely to be made up of the stronger reserve players, such as Stuart Fleetwood. However, personally I would like to see players such as Andy Campbell, Gareth Whalley and Mark Bonner all involved to give them a much needed morale boost. There is a question mark over who will play between the sticks, and I'd like to see Neil Alexander get the nod with the Scotsman extremely low on confidence after being dropped, however I'd suspect Lawrence will go with former Norwich shot stopper Arran Lee-Barrett, who has never played a competitive Cardiff City game. 

Chris Barker has being playing for the reserve lately, so he may also feature. Alan Lee is also in need of 90 minutes, but I doubt Lawrence will pick the Irishman, due to his odd fear of picking decent sides in this competition! No official team news has been announced, so the exact starting XI remains a mystery!

County qualified for the latter rounds of the competition through the group stages, as have the 4 clubs who have home ties tomorrow. Swansea, Wrexham, Cardiff and Welsh Premier champions Barry Town received byes to the quarter-final stages, but all face away fixtures.

The Exiles had a tremendous run in last years Premier Cup, which ended with defeat to Wrexham in the final at the Racecourse. County swept Swansea City and Cardiff City away in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, but the Robins proved to much for the Dr.Martens side in the final, with Dennis Smith's side strolling to a 6-1 victory. The runners-up spot gave non-league County £50,000 in prize money, which was a massive boost to a club desperate to return to the Football League.

City have lifted the not so famous wooden trophy only once in it's seven year history, with Wrexham taking the competition a huge five times with the respect they show to the competition paying off. May 2002 saw City gain consolation for their play-off defeat at the hands of Stoke City in the best possible fashion, a win over the Jacks! A Graham Kavanagh free-kick was enough to secure City's only triumph in the FAW Premier Cup.

Unlike last season, this game is not being shown on television with TNS v. Wrexham the live Premier Cup game, which is later in the week. Victory for City could set up a game against the holders, or the first derby game in almost two years against Swansea City.

Bluebird to the Bone Prediction - Newport County 0-1 Cardiff City
City will find it tough, with the Newport fans and supporters likely to be really up for the match. It will take a professional performance from the visitors, who have the talent to beat County, but whether they show enough spirit is in question.

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