Sky Sports pundit issues Sheffield Wednesday v Cardiff City scoreline prediction | OneFootball

Sky Sports pundit David Prutton has predicted Saturday afternoon's lunchtime kickoff between Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff City

Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff City will both likely share the feeling that three points are up for grabs ahead of Saturday afternoon's crunch Hillsborough showdown, but Sky Sports pundit David Prutton is expecting a 1-1 draw.

The hosts are heading into the clash in desperate need of a dust-down after agonisingly losing out in the Steel City derby in the final match before the international break, with a second-half strike from Tyrese Campbell keeping the bragging rights at Bramall Lane.

Danny Rohl's side will intend on putting it right and returning to winning ways back on home soil, though their form has generally been inconsistent this term. Wednesday's last fixture at Hillsborough ended in a 2-0 victory over Norwich City, but days before, they lost 6-2 to Watford and have won just three of their eight home matches in the 2024/25 season.

Wednesday are 15th in the Championship and currently find themselves three points above Saturday's opponents, with a marginally better goal difference to boot.

They may just fancy their chances against a side who are yet to win on the road all season and will be making the arduous trip up to South Yorkshire off the back of consecutive defeats to Luton Town and Blackburn Rovers prior to the international break. Those losses knocked the wind out of the sails for Cardiff, who had posted resurgent form under interim boss Omer Riza to temporarily move up and out of the relegation zone after a hellish start to the season.

The Bluebirds are now back in the bottom three, but find themselves level on points with 19th-placed Hull City. Riza, meanwhile, may fancy a win more than most in order to potentially boost his chances of landing the job on a full-time basis, having travelled out to meet with owner Vincent Tan in Malaysia during the international break amid continued uncertainty about his future.

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Prutton believes that his old side will be looking to bounce back after their defeat in the Steel City derby, while he has also questioned the uncertainty surrounding Riza's position with the Bluebirds. The 43-year-old is predicting a tough game, one which he reckons will finish 1-1.

He said: "The noisy neighbours won at Bramall Lane, which they're very, very proud about. [They're] against a Cardiff side who, up until the last couple of games [were in good form]. Blackburn were very good and obviously a tough one against Luton.

"Omer Riza's work has been very, very good indeed. I still think it's a bit unfair that he's still seemingly being left to dangle in terms of who takes over.

"But Wednesday need a reaction and Cardiff, given they still find themselves precariously placed just inside the bottom three but obviously level on points with Luton, Preston and Hull City, this will be a tough game."

When asked to predict the scoreline, Prutton responded: "1-1 I think."

Cardiff City would likely take a point at Sheffield Wednesday

Prutton's prediction of a difficult game for both sides would seem fair at this moment in time, but as the away side and in light of their struggles on the road, it may be that little bit tougher for the Bluebirds who should be satisfied if they come home with a point this weekend.

Cardiff have just looked beleaguered in their last three games, including for much of their dramatic 2-1 win against Norwich, so the international break has arrived at a good time and may offer a timely reset to a squad that isn't exactly packed out with strength in depth.

Looking ahead, the Bluebirds have a largely favourable run-in going into the winter period and next Wednesday's home match against QPR already feels like something of a must-win.