Saturday’s encounter at the Cardiff City Stadium promises to be an emotional affair as the home team pay tribute to Emiliano Sala
Cardiff play their first match at the Cardiff City Stadium following the disappearance of Emiliano Sala on Saturday, when they will host Bournemouth in Premier League action.
The Bluebirds put up a brave midweek display against Arsenal before eventually succumbing 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, but this promises to be an even more emotional occasion.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, come into the game on a high after inflicting a 4-0 defeat upon Chelsea at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday – the Blues’ biggest Premier League loss in 23 years.
| Game | Cardiff City vs Bournemouth |
| Date | Saturday, February 2 |
| Time | 5:30pm GMT / 12:30pm ET |
| Stream (US only) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| NBC | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be broadcast on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 4K UHD. It can be streamed on BT Sport Live.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BT Sport 1 / BT Sport 4K UHD | BT Sport Live |
| Position | Cardiff squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Etheridge, Smithies, Murphy |
| Defenders | Peltier, Bennett, Manga, Richards, Connolly, Cunningham, Bamba |
| Midfielders | Paterson, Arter, Ralls, Murphy, Gunnarsson, Damour, Camarasa, Harris, Hoilett, Paterson |
| Forwards | Reid, Ward, Zohore, Mendez-Laing, Madine, Ward, Niasse |
Sean Morrison remains Cardiff’s chief injury problem ahead of Saturday’s home fixture and he could miss another six weeks. Meanwhile, Jazz Richards, Josh Murphy and Victor Camarasa will all require checks.
Harry Arter is not allowed to play against his parent club.
Possible Cardiff starting XI: Etheridge; Peltier, Ecuele Manga, Bamba, Bennett; Hoilett, Camarasa, Gunnarsson, Paterson; Reid; Niasse
| Position | Bournemouth squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Boruc, Begovic, Travers |
| Defenders | S. Cook, Ake, Daniels,Rico, Mings, Simpson, Clyne |
| Midfielders | Surman, Pugh, Lerma, Ibe, Stanislas, Brooks, Fraser, Ofoborh |
| Forwards | Mousset, King, Solanke |
Callum Wilson has undergone knee surgery and will miss out for a couple of weeks. Simon Francis and Lewis Cook, meanwhile, are not expected to play again this season.
Jefferson Lerma and David Brooks are both doubts but Dominic Solanke could make his debut.
Possible Bournemouth starting XI: Boruc; Clyne, Cook, Ake, Smith; Stanislas, Gosling, Surman, Fraser; King, Solanke
Off the back of their midweek win, Bournemouth are 13/10 favourites with Bet365. Cardiff are priced at 9/4 and a draw is 5/2.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
The Cardiff City Stadium will be a site of tribute to Emiliano Sala on Saturday, following the disappearance of the club’s record signing when he took a private jet to fly over to Wales from France early last week.
Although debris has been found, nothing more has yet been turned up.
Sala’s former club, Nantes, paid an emotional tribute to the Argentine on Wednesday as they drew 1-1 with Saint-Etienne, and now it is the Bluebirds’ turn to pay homage.
Following the narrow loss to Arsenal, manager Neil Warnock explained how proud he was of the performance his team produced.
“We talked about Emiliano before the game and I thought it was appropriate that we gave a good account of ourselves against a good side and I thought we could’ve won the game,” Warnock told BBC Sport.
“What a performance! If Arsenal had our chances, they would’ve beaten us by four. Nineteen shots at the Emirates, it’s definitely our best performance of the season.”
Centre-back Sol Bamba, though, explained how the drama has impacted the squad.
“It is a very unusual situation, a big tragedy. We have all been affected by it, the lads, the city, the whole club,” he told BBC Sport Wales.
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“We have had some help. We travel by plane and some of the lads have been thinking: ‘I don’t want to go on it anymore.’”
A home game may, therefore, prove a slightly easier occasion to handle, but the bottom line for City is that they need the points: they find themselves four points adrift in the relegation zone.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, have few such problems after back-to-back home wins over West Ham and Chelsea.
Their stunning second-half display at Dean Court will be the standard that Eddie Howe seeks, but the context of this match means that it will be difficult for either team to truly have their minds focused on the game.