Cardiff City travel to face Blackburn Rovers this weekend with several players returning to fitness after the international break. The Championship fixture at Ewood Park on Saturday offers a chance to build on their first league win of the season, a 3-1 victory over Charlton Athletic.

Dylan Lawlor is fully fit and trained throughout the break, while Ronan Kpakio is set to be seen for the first time. Yousef Salech, who damaged his shoulder against Charlton, was back on the pitch on Tuesday but has not yet trained with the group. A decision on his availability will be made following that session. Isaak Davies is back in full training, but Rubin Colwill is not fit for Saturday and may rejoin the group next week. Alex Robertson, who missed international duty with shin and Achilles issues, may train on Friday to prove his fitness, while Calum Chambers remains out and is seeing a specialist.

Form and tactical context

Cardiff sit 21st in the Championship with seven points from eight games, but their underlying statistics are strong. They lead the division for shots (148), shots on target (53) and average possession (64.8%). Jack Moylan, their top scorer with three goals this season, was instrumental in the Charlton win with two goals and an assist. He has had the most touches in the opposition box of any Championship player this term.

Manager Brian Barry-Murphy used the break to work on player fitness and team play. "I've enjoyed the amount of time we got to spend with the players and work on certain things in training," he said. He also praised Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray as a master coach he has long admired, noting Mowbray's teams are always well-organised and play attractive football.

Blackburn, 16th in the table, are unbeaten in two games and beat Millwall 3-1 in their last home fixture. They have several players stepping up their recoveries, including Scott Wharton, Augustus Kargbo and Mathias Jorgensen. Cardiff won the last meeting between the sides 2-1 at Ewood Park in March 2025 and will aim for consecutive league wins against Rovers for the first time since 2016. The full history of this fixture and future fixtures are available on the club site.

Looking ahead, Barry-Murphy emphasised the need for consistency. The match kicks off at 15:00 BST on Saturday, with Cardiff looking to climb from their current lowly position.