Steve Bruce has seen his Hull City side win three Championship games in succession and pick up 15 points from a possible 18, so the Tigers will travel to the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday with every belief they can cause an upset.
When I say upset, it is only in terms of the prices that the bookmakers have given for the clash, because in the league they cannot be separated – both sides sit only two points off the top and will harbour hopes of being ahead of the pack at the close of play.
Cardiff were on the crest of a wave after winning eight games out of ten, but they have been brought crashing back down to earth as both Bolton and Charlton have upset the odds and defeated the Welsh side in the last seven days.
A humdinger in midweek saw Charlton beat Malky Mackay’s men 5-4 at the Valley and if punters sense another high-scoring affair in a match involving Cardiff, a bet on over 3.5 goals scored in the match looks inviting at odds of 39/20.
Six of Cardiff’s matches this season have ended this way and exactly the same amount of Hull’s fixtures have also seen four or more goals being scored.
Despite the blip in form, bwin has Cardiff priced as 21/20 favourites, while the draw is available at odds of 12/5.
However, there is definitely value in backing the away side and new bwin customers who register here and back a Hull win with their free £20 bet would see a return of £68 should the Tigers triumph.
Last time these two sides met at the Cardiff City Stadium, Hull came out on top 3-0 in a one-sided affair and although I cannot see it being as comfortable this time around, Bruce’s men can go to South Wales and claim maximum points for the second season running.
For punters who want to back a long-shot, a 3-0 Hull win is available at crazily big odds of 40/1, but a more sensible bet would be 2-1 to the travelling side, which is their most common scoreline this season.
A quarter of the Tigers’ fixtures have ended in them winning 2-1, so a bet on this outcome at odds of 21/2 looks to be the way forward if you do not simply want to back a Hull win at 12/5, which is where my money will be going.
