Cardiff vs Derby Predictions

• Cardiff City have kept clean sheets in two of their last four Championship home games.
• Derby County have failed to score in two of their last three away league games.
• Rams captain and top scorer Tom Lawrence misses out as he serves the final game of a three-match ban.

Derby don’t convince without their suspended skipper

Derby are struggling to make an attacking impact without suspended skipper Tom Lawrence and their dry spell could continue at Cardiff on Tuesday night.

Lawrence has contributed nine goals and five assists so far this season, but his moment of madness against Peterborough a fortnight ago could have the gravest implication for the Rams’ season. Wayne Rooney’s side have lost both subsequent matches, admittedly to promotion-chasing Millwall and Luton, but have looked nothing like the resurgent force they were from December to mid-January.

Derby’s xG figure in each of their last three road trips hasn’t reached 0.5 and fans will fear they are turning back into the team that couldn’t score enough goals to win games earlier this season. The Rams have failed to score in four of their last seven away contests and we don’t rate their chances of breaching a Bluebirds backline that has been well organised of late.

Illness-hit Bluebirds kept free-scoring Fulham quiet 

Cardiff have kept two clean sheets in their last four and can probably take some credit for holding Fulham, the division’s highest scorers, to just one on Saturday. The Cottagers’ xG number of 0.77 was their lowest in any away game this term, which suggests Steve Morison’s side were very good indeed.

More so, because the Bluebirds camp was struck by a sickness bug hours before taking on the table-toppers, which forced Morison to alter his starting lineup some 90 minutes before kick-off. Ryan Wintle , Jordan Hugill, Uche Ikpeazu, Alfie Doughty, Mark Harris and Rubin Colwill were all struck down within 24 hours of the game and it remains to be seen how many of them have recovered in time for Tuesday.

That has us leaning away from a Cardiff win to nil and towards a Bluebirds clean sheet, which is the same as backing Derby to score fewer than 0.5 goals. The Rams have had a joint-league leading five goalless draws already this season so a 0-0 outcome is also favoured in correct score betting.