Cardiff vs. Derby County Predictions: Tuesday's Championship clash to see red

More Championship action swings our way this week, with a single game to enjoy on Tuesday as Cardiff host Derby for a 7:45pm kick-off amidst the midweek FA Cup fixtures.

Fellow relegation contenders Barnsley have recorded consecutive wins in the last week, meaning that Derby's visit to Wales is most crucial for getting points on the board.

City might be 13 points above the drop zone, but none of the three teams currently residing there seem likely to go down without giving it a real fight.

Here at BettingOdds, we've provided you with our two best tips for the match, including justification behind each and the best price to find them.

I'm expecting quite a feisty affair given that both teams rank inside the top five for possessing the worst disciplinary records in the Championship, with Cardiff second having accrued 79 yellows and three reds, while Derby have racked up 69y and 5r, leaving them with the fifth worst tally.

We're going to get a little more specific than that though, which is why I'm fancying a Nathan Byrne booking.

To begin, he's the third-highest carded player in the whole division, managing nine yellows and one red from 31 matches during the 2021/22 campaign for County.

He might have last received a yellow three games ago, but there appears to be a trend with whom he finds himself booked against.

In games against Peterborough, Swansea and twice vs Reading, Byrne has been entered into the referee's book. The common denominator here is that all three of these sides are in and around Derby themselves, more specifically sitting in the bottom eight of the Championship table.

It's also worth mentioning that the Derby full-back has committed the second highest number of fouls for his side, behind Tom Lawrence by six, having gained one more card than his teammate.

Staggeringly, William Hill have him priced at 4/1 to be cautioned during tomorrow's game, while he is as short as 11/5 elsewhere.

Sticking with the theme of cards and this being a heavily contested match, I'm siding with there to be a red card.

Between the pair, they've managed eight red cards across their 68 league matches this season - Derby with five and Cardiff, three.

Three of County's last eight outings have seen a red card, including two in one match when they faced Peterborough just three games ago!

Wayne Rooney has his team playing with vigour and a spirited performance will be necessary if they are to take away anything from the Cardiff City Stadium against Steve Morison's physical Bluebirds.

If Cardiff aren't careful, they could be dragged into an ugly relegation dogfight and so matching Derby's aggression and intent could result in a feisty match up.