Here are your Cardiff City headlines for Monday, March 21.
Cardiff a 'totally different prospect' ahead of derby clash
Cardiff City are "a totally different prospect" to the one which was battered 3-0 by Swansea City at the beginning of the season, believes former Bluebirds and Wales striker Nathan Blake.
Mick McCarthy's Cardiff were beaten convincingly by Russell Martin's men back in October during the Bluebirds' woeful eight-game losing streak, which spelt the end for their manager.
READ MORE: The confirmed Cardiff City 2022/23 squad status shows how much transfer work is needed
But since Steve Morison has taken charge there has been a marked upsurge in performances and form. Indeed, Blake even believes that if Morison was in charge and this squad was in place from the beginning of the season, Cardiff might even be challenging up near the play-off spots.
"Cardiff are a totally different prospect. Playing much quicker, there are kids who like to pass the ball, move and rotate. I'm really looking forward to it. If I was going to put my money on anyone it would be Cardiff," Blake told the BBC.
"Cardiff are a very different prospect [to the last derby game]. There is a lot of energy. It's fast, free-flowing, they can defend and they score all type of goals. They are looking like decent outfit Cardiff. Don't get get me wrong, I don't think the squad that's there now would challenge the top three or four positions, but I think if Morison had this squad together from the start of the season you are probably looking at the top eight quite comfortably.
"So, yeah, nothing to worry about if you're Swansea!"
The Bluebirds welcome the Swans to Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday, April 2.
Bowen out of Wales squad
Sam Bowen has withdrawn from Wales' under-21s squad for the double-header against Switzerland and Bulgaria.
Bowen has been told to fight for his spot in the Bluebirds first team — you can read more about that here — by proving himself in training and for games for the under-23s or the international side.
Bowen has been a regular fixture for Wales' under-21s side and it was no surprise to see him called up to the squad by Paul Bodin for the games on Thursday and a week on Tuesday. However, the midfielder missed Cardiff City under-23s' 2-1 defeat by Colchester on Friday, perhaps suggesting he had suffered an injury.
And the FAW announced on Monday morning that Bowen and Liverpool defender Owen Beck were out of the squad for the matches, being replaced by Elliot Thorpe (Luton Town), Oli Hammond (Nottingham Forest) and Zac Ashworth (West Brom).
Swans and Cardiff fans unite against racism
Swansea and Cardiff fans met in the Welsh capital in Sunday to unite in a march to end racism.
Around 60 fans from the rival clubs met at Cardiff's city hall at midday for a Stand Up to Racism march as part of a wider demonstration to end discrimination in Wales.
It comes after the clubs earlier this year, ahead of the first derby in October, decided to jointly back the message that racism will not be tolerated. That was on show again on Sunday when supporters met and held a banner, which featured both Bluebirds and Swans players along with the message: Rivals on the pitch, United against racism, during the demonstration.
CCS to host Cardiff City Women against Cardiff Met Women
Cardiff City Stadium will host Cardiff City FC Women's clash with Cardiff Met Women, the club have announced.
The fixture, which will kick-off at 5.30pm on Saturday, April 9, will be a league fixture between two sides battling it out near the top of the Adran Premier table.
The Bluebirds face Cardiff met in two cup finals in the coming weeks, meaning this fixture is growing into quite the rivalry. It is the first time Cardiff City Women will play at CCS in the 2021/22 season. They played Briton Ferry Llansawel at the home of the Bluebirds last season, thrashing them 6-0.
Tickets range from £2 to £5 for the clash and can be purchased via email at womensteam@cardiffcityfc.co.uk and online here .
Bluebirds head coach Iain Darbyshire said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the players to experience playing a competitive match in a wonderful stadium. We are very thankful that we have been given the opportunity by our club, and it’s a day we are very much looking forward to. I hope that we are able to bring a lot of fans to CCS, alongside various grassroots girls teams, who we hope to inspire to continue playing the game they love.”
