Cardiff City forward Cian Ashford is enjoying playing in a more central role following his eye-catching performance in the Bluebirds' Carabao Cup win over Swindon. The 21-year-old assisted Yousef Salech for the second goal in the 3-2 win and was also denied by the crossbar. Ashford spent many years playing in a central role with Cardiff's academy but his minutes for the first team have almost exclusively come on the wing.
Vitor Matos says there will be no change to his selection plans even though Swansea City's first game of the 2026-27 season is in the Carabao Cup. Managers often use the early stages of the EFL Cup to give squad players game time, but Matos looks set to field something close to his strongest available side. "We don't separate competitions," said the Swansea head coach.
Swindon Town boss Ian Holloway insists he would be "delighted" if the League Two side repeat last season's 2-1 defeat by Cardiff City in the EFL Cup. The Bluebirds, who thrashed Italian giants Roma 4-1 in their final pre-season friendly last weekend, kick off the season against the Robins at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday (15:00 BST). The teams met at the same stage in the 2025-26 competition, when goals by Cian Ashford and Rubin Colwill earned Cardiff victory on their way to the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Chelsea.
Tony Pulis believes Cardiff City is a massive club that would grace the Premier League, but warns they will need to step up a level as they return to the Championship after a season in League One. The experienced former Premier League manager - whose lengthy career included spells in charge at Stoke City, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough - was impressed by the Bluebirds as they won promotion in their first season under boss Brian Barry-Murphy. "Obviously Cardiff had a fantastic season last year and they get promoted back up to the Championship," Newport-born Pulis told Radio Wales Breakfast.
Tap a headline to view metadata and excerpt fields in Sportra, then use the article website button to continue on the original publisher page.
