The Game
Cardiff City v Argyle. Cardiff City Stadum. Saturday, 30 August. 12.30pm. Sky Bet League One.
The Opposition
Cardiff City finished bottom of the Championship last season, one place below Argyle, as the two sides were both relegated.
In the summer, Cardiff appointed Brian Barry-Murphy as head coach, and the new man has started superbly. Cardiff began the season with a 2-1 win over Peterborough United, then followed it with a 0-0 draw at Port Vale.
Cardiff have won every game since, beating Rotherham United, AFC Wimbledon and Luton Town in the league, as well as wins over Swindon Town and Cheltenham Town in the Carabao Cup. Peterborough and Swindon are the only teams to have scored against Cardiff this season.
The Gaffer
Cork-born Brian Barry-Murphy’s playing career began at his hometown club, before a move to Preston North End in 1999. After loans at Southend United and Hartlepool, Barry-Murphy went to Sheffield Wednesday, and then on to Bury, where he played more than 200 times. He then moved to Rochdale, where he played and then transitioned into being a first-team coach.
In 2019, Barry-Murphy took over from former Argyle defender Keith Hill as Rochdale boss, but after two seasons where Dale finished 18th, then were relegated, he left Spotland and took a job with Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad, aka their Under-23 side.
After three years, Barry-Murphy left City to join Leicester as a first-team coach, and then took the step back into management this summer.
The Squad
Cardiff’s mean defence is a young, largely home-grown backline.
Right-back Ronan Kpakio and centre-back Dylan Lawlor are both teenagers, both through Cardiff’s ranks, and both have been called up by the senior Wales squad, without being capped as yet. Both have started all five games of the season so far.
Lawlor typically plays alongside Will Fish, who is in his second season with the Bluebirds. Fish came through at Manchester United, and had loans with Stockport County and Hibernian, before arriving at Cardiff last summer, playing 21 times last season.
Likely to line up at left-back is Joel Bagan (above), 23. English-born, an Irish under-21 international, but found himself at Cardiff aged 17, and has now played 76 times for City. He has also spent time on loan at Notts County and Zulte Waregem, in Belgium.
Behind them could be Nathan Trott, pending a late fitness check. Born in Bermuda, the goalkeeper joined West Ham United at 18, and had loans at Wimbledon, Nancy in France, and Vejle in Denmark. This led to a permanent move to Copenhagen, in the Danish capital, but earlier this month he joined Cardiff on a season-long loan.
Previous Meetings
Last season, Argyle lost 5-0 at Cardiff in October, in a game where Ibrahim Cissoko was sent off. In the return game, at Home Park, the sides drew 1-1, with Muhamed Tijani scoring an equaliser to cancel out Yousef Salech’s first-half goal.
A Strip for the Trip
Argyle will be wearing their pink third kit for this game.
Argyle TV
Argyle TV’s coverage will begin with Argyle Breakfast at 10am, hosted by Erin Black and Aaron Cusack. Charlie Price will host the pre-match show, which starts at midday, alongside Katie Middleton, and then hand over to the stadium for live commentary from Rob McNichol and former Pilgrims defender Jon Beswetherick.
Match passes to watch this game are available outside the UK & Ireland. Click here to purchase your Argyle TV match pass.
