Cardiff City v Burnley: Free Tips, Prediction and Odds

The almost unimaginable happened at the weekend, Burnley's goal was breached, but the Clarets will hope to return to their impenetrable best when they visit Cardiff City in the Championship on Tuesday.

After a run of nine successive clean sheets across all competitions, the Clarets not only conceded during Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round tie at Preston, but they let in three goals as they exited the competition following a 3-0 defeat.

Cardiff also suffered FA Cup heartache last time out, as they were comfortably beaten 2-0 at Premier League Aston Villa, although that does mean both they and Burnley can put their full focus behind their respective Championship goals for the remainder of the season.

Cardiff City v Burnley free betting tips and predictions

Draw - 12/5

There are plenty of caveats as to why Burnley's long run of clean sheets was brought to an end on Saturday, not least the fact that head coach Scott Parker chose to make nine changes to his starting XI, including handing a rare rest to first-choice goalkeeper James Trafford.

Trafford and co should return to the Clarets line-up for this trip to South Wales and Burnley's defensive record in the Championship remains sensational, as they have kept 12 successive clean sheets in the second tier and have only conceded nine goals across their 34 league games this season.

Unsurprisingly, shutting out opponents on a regular basis has made Burnley hard to beat - they have not lost any of their last 21 Championship matches - but despite all that, they head into this game five points adrift of the automatic promotion places, albeit with a game in hand on the two teams above them.

The main reason why Burnley have ground to make up on both Leeds United and Sheffield United is they have drawn too many matches, with 14 of their league fixtures having ended all square.

Only West Brom (16) and Preston (15) have drawn more games than Burnley in the second tier this season and Parker has seen his side share the spoils in their last two road fixtures in the division at Portsmouth and North End.

Opponents Cardiff need a result for different reasons, as they sit just five points above the relegation zone, although a run of only two defeats across their last 12 league games has helped ease their fears of the drop.

Omer Riza's side are unbeaten in all six of their matches at the Cardiff City Stadium since the turn of the year, with three of those games ending all-square, so they could frustrate Burnley, who may make the long trip back to Lancashire with just a point to show for their efforts.

Under 1.5 goals - 13/8

Burnley's fantastic defensive record has been well documented, but keeping clean sheets has perhaps come at a cost at the other end, as their tally of 43 goals scored is the lowest of any team in the current top six.

Eight of their last 11 league matches have featured a maximum of just one goal scored, while remarkably, they have recorded 11 0-0 draws in the second tier this season.

Cardiff's matches have not been free-scoring either of late, with the Bluebirds claiming a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers Hull City in their last league fixture, while they managed just one shot on target during their cup defeat at Villa.

A 0-0 draw on Tuesday can be backed at 13/2, but perhaps the safer play is to go for under 1.5 goals in the match, available at 13/8.

Jaidon Anthony over 2.5 shots - 2/1

Burnley's relative lack of goals has not been for want of trying, particularly for winger Jaidon Anthony, who has had more shots (65) than any other Clarets player.

The on-loan Bournemouth ace has racked up 10 shots across his last six Championship appearances, including firing off three efforts in both the recent win over Hull and the draw with Portsmouth.

Having been rested for the cup exit at Preston, Anthony should be fresh and raring to go for this one, so he could muster up at least another three efforts towards goal on Tuesday.

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Cardiff City v Burnley odds

Cardiff City - 3/1
Draw - 12/5
Burnley - 10/11

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.