Cardiff have edge over shaky Swansea for derby day

Swansea and Cardiff meet for the second time this season, with both sides now very much under pressure.

Following Michael Laudrup’s sacking on Tuesday night, the Swans have placed club captain Garry Monk in charge in what seems to be a crucial match up. 4/5 says Swansea will get a home win for their interim head coach.

On the other hand, Bluebirds boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is having a few problems of his own as his team are languishing in 19th place since the harsh sacking of Malky Mackay. With odds of 5/4 to go down, the Norwegian knows that this match-up is a battle not only for pride, but for survival.

The last three meetings between the two south Wales sides – and four in their last eight – have ended in a 1-0 scoreline, so the odds of 11/4 for the match to have a total goals under 1.5 are very tempting.

However, three of those eight games have resulted in four or more goals, but with odds of 9/4 it may not be worth the punt, as with both clubs under serious pressure this encounter is likely to be a low-scoring affair.

Recent history points towards a goalless first half, with an average time of the 74th minute to get a winner. Swansea are backed at 2/1 for a 1-0 win, whilst Cardiff have odds of 15/2 for a reverse scoreline. Coral have offered the safer bet of 3/4 for a single goal victory for either club.

Cardiff brought in a few players in January and have added to their attack in particular, with the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Kenwyne Jones to provide a threat on the counter. Jones, who scored on his debut, is backed at 11/4 to score at anytime, but the 8/1 odds for him to score first seem the more appealing.

These two clubs have faced each other a total of 55 times now, with Swansea just one victory ahead on 20. Since 2008, the stats are even more equal with three wins apiece and two draws in eight matches.

This much-anticipated fixture really could go either way, but with Cardiff not conceding a goal in the last two derbies, and with all the turmoil going on at Swansea, the 21/5 clean sheet odds for the away side seem like the best chance for a higher pay-out.