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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Mathew Davies

How the final Championship table is expected to look for Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town and Blackpool

What a difference a week can make.

This time seven days ago, Cardiff City were facing up to one of their biggest weeks in recent memory, with matches against Birmingham City (away) and Reading (home) on the agenda.

Two wins and six points later, the Bluebirds' relegation picture is looking far more rosy.

Former managers Neil Warnock and Mick McCarthy may have put flies in the ointment a tad on Saturday, with the veteran bosses picking up wins for Huddersfield Town and Blackpool respectively, but those results have sucked Birmingham and Stoke City into the fray somewhat.

READ MORE: Cardiff City news as pundit sides with Paul Ince over McGuinness controversy, Warnock left in tears and loanee stars

Cardiff currently sit 20th on 35 points, with Rotherham United (21st, 33pts), Huddersfield (22nd, 31pts), Blackpool (23rd, 31pts) and Wigan Athletic (24th, 31pst) below them. The four teams beneath Cardiff have all played one game fewer than the Bluebirds.

There is no magic number in terms of points tally survival in the second tier but Warnock suggested a target last week.

"We always say 50 points since three points for a win was introduced and the last few years it's been 47, 48," he said. "I'm never looking at the next few games and trying to set targets. I just want to get as many points as I can as soon as I can. They've thrown some points away the last few weeks. I watched the Blackpool game and I don't know how they didn't win that game but they didn't."

This is how the experts see the bottom of the Championship table finishing.

Preston - 40/1

Hull City - 33/1

Bristol City - 33/1

Reading - 18/1

Stoke City - 4/1

QPR - 14/1

Birmingham City - 12/1

Cardiff - 11/4

Rotherham United - 4/6

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Wigan - 8/15

Blackpool - 4/9

Huddersfield - 1/3

(Odds courtesy of SkyBet and correct at time of publication, please gamble responsibly)

So the bookmakers see Cardiff escaping the drop and the current bottom three falling through the trapdoor, albeit it in a different order.

Boss Sabri Lamouchi says his goal is to "save the club".

"This is an exciting challenge but not an easy challenge," he explained. "I said yes to it for two reasons: it's an important club, Cardiff. And for the squad, because I believe in these players and their quality. It's just finding the right way to talk with them and the right way to play. It was the perfect plan in Birmingham and tonight, I am very happy for that.

"I'm really happy. Now I've won away and at home. So now we just need to focus on game after game. Our goal is still to save the club. But with this mentality, all together, we will do it. With this squad and mentality, we will do it.

"Every game in is tough in the Championship. We play four games in March, seven in April. Crazy. We need to get points like tonight and like at Birmingham and we will prepare the next one, Norwich."

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