By Middlesbrough FC

Boro make the journey to South Wales on Saturday to take on Cardiff City in the Sky Bet Championship.

Ahead of the 12.30pm kick-off at Cardiff City Stadium, here is all you need to know about the Bluebirds...

The background

Cardiff go into Saturday's game looking for their first league win of the season.

They were beaten 2-0 at home by Sunderland on the opening day before a 5-0 loss at Burnley and a 1-1 draw in a crunch derby clash with Swansea City.

Their most recent outing saw them defeated 5-3 by Southampton in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, with two stoppage time goals sealing their fate.

The Bluebirds are aiming to build on their 12th-placed finish from last season. They have been a Championship club since 2019, when they were relegated from the Premier League after a one-year stay.

The boss

Erol Bulut is into his second season as Cardiff manager and led them to a mid-table finish in his first campaign.

It is his fifth managerial position but his first outside his native Turkey, where he has led Yeni Malatyaspor, Alanyaspor, Fenerbahce and Gaziantep.

As a player, Bulut was a left wing-back who represented a host of clubs, including Fenerbahce, Eintracht Frankfurt and Olympiacos.

His work last season was recognised when he signed a new two-year contract with Cardiff in the summer.

Key players

Aaron Ramsey is a key man for Cardiff, having rejoined his hometown club in the summer of 2023. The former Arsenal, Juventus and Nice midfielder contributed three goals in the Championship last season.

The Bluebirds will be hoping many of their summer arrivals can make a big impact in 2024/25, including former Queens Park Rangers midfielder Chris Willock, ex-Arsenal defender Calum Chambers and former Aston Villa winger Anwar El Ghazi. Their most recent signing was defender Will Fish from Manchester United.

Long-serving midfielder Joe Ralls captains the side, having been a regular starter for Cardiff since 2014/15.

Forward Callum Robinson scored the vital equaliser against Swansea last weekend, while Perry NgCallum O'Dowda and Rubin Colwill are also important figures.

Past meetings

Boro have won the last three fixtures between the sides and five of the last six.

We did the league double over Cardiff last season, winning 2-0 at the Riverside and 4-1 at Cardiff City Stadium in April, when Matt Clarke, Finn Azaz, Emmanuel Latte Lath and Alex Gilbert were on target.