Cardiff City

Former Cardiff City striker turned BBC Sport Wales pundit Nathan Blake looks ahead to the new Championship season.

Blake discusses Cardiff's fixtures and their transfer needs and whether the young players who helped the Bluebirds win promotion from League One last season can thrive at a higher level.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Former Wales international striker Nathan Blake says Wrexham and Cardiff "couldn't ask for a bigger game" as they face each other on the opening weekend of the new Championship season.

The Bluebirds welcome the Red Dragons to the Cardiff City Stadium on the 17 August, the first Welsh derby of the 2026-27 campaign.

The sides met last in last season's Carabao Cup fourth round at the Stok Cae Ras, with Cardiff claiming a 2-1 win.

Ex-Cardiff player Blake says there will the pressure will be on his old club to deliver as they return to the second tier following promotion last term.

"You couldn't ask for a bigger fixture if you're Cardiff or Wrexham," said Blake.

"But it's a tough game for Cardiff I think more than Wrexham. You want to start the season positively, you want to start it with a win, but there is more pressure on if you're at home.

"With Wrexham travelling away from home, there's less pressure."

The encounter will be the first in the league between both sides since a third-tier meeting in 2002, when Cardiff ran out 3-2 winners.

Wrexham will be aiming to dust themselves off after missing out on the play-offs on the final day of last season, while Cardiff will aim to maintain momentum following promotion.

"It's a derby so everything goes out of the window," added Blake.

"Wrexham are the more experienced side and they should finish higher than Cardiff this year.

"But we are yet to see what both teams are going to end up with next season when the transfer window closes. It's really interesting and it's a great fixture to open the season with."

Portsmouth are now favourites to win the race to sign Estonian midfielder Rocco Shein. Cardiff City and Millwall have also shown interest in the 22-year-old who currently plays for Fredrikstad in the Norwegian top flight. (Fredrikstad Blad - in Norwegian), external

Want more EFL transfer gossip? Read more of Friday's headlines here.

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Former Cardiff City and BBC Radio Wales commentator and journalist Richard 'Shep' Shepherd has died at the age of 81.

Shepherd started covering the Bluebirds during the early 1970s during his time as a journalist with the BBC.

He became editor of Cardiff's official matchday programme in 1985 and worked for the club for more than three decades as a club historian and a matchday commentator.

A Cardiff statement read: "We offer our sincerest condolences to Richard's widow, Brenda, his family and his many friends and colleagues in Welsh sport and further afield.

"With fond memories. Rest easy, Shep."

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Cardiff City will kick off the 2026-27 season with a home tie against League Two Swindon Town in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

The match will be a repeat of last year's first-round meeting of the clubs in the same competition, which Cardiff won 2-1 thanks to goals from Cian Ashford and Rubin Colwill.

The Carabao Cup first round is being played on the weekend of 7-9 August.

The Championship season begins the following weekend, with Cardiff welcoming Wrexham to south Wales in their opening league game of the campaign on Monday, 17 August.

Swindon, managed by Ian Holloway, finished ninth in the fourth tier last season.

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

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Cardiff City's home fixture against Wrexham is one of the most eye-catching fixtures on the opening weekend of the new Championship season.

The live TV cameras will roll at Cardiff City Stadium as Brian Barry-Murphy's team mark their return to the second tier with what is a relatively rare encounter with Wrexham.

The first of six derbies for Cardiff in 2026-27 – alongside the Wrexham return fixture next March, plus two meetings apiece with Swansea City and Bristol City – will see the Bluebirds begin the season on their own patch for the sixth time in seven seasons.

Cardiff's hope will be that they can continue a strong home record against Wrexham.

The two Welsh clubs did not meet in the league until 1975, when Cardiff won a Third Division game 3-0 at Ninian Park.

That was the first of nine Cardiff victories in 15 home league matches against Wrexham.

Image source, Getty Images

The 17 August fixture will be the first in the league between the two clubs since Cardiff won a third-tier encounter 3-2 in March 2002, with Scott Young, Peter Thorne (pictured above) and Danny Gabbidon on target for Lennie Lawrence's side.

Cardiff have lost only two home league games against Wrexham, in 1992 and 1982, while they have been beaten on the opening day of the season just once in the previous five campaigns.

The 2025-26 campaign began with a 2-1 home triumph against Peterborough United which set the tone for a season that ended with promotion.

Another opening victory this time around would be an impressive way to start as Barry-Murphy looks to re-establish Cardiff in the second tier.

Brian Barry-Murphy has just celebrated one year in charge of Cardiff City (16 June), little more than a month after guiding the Bluebirds back into the Championship.

BBC Sport Wales asked Cardiff fans to give us their verdict on Barry-Murphy's first 12 months at Cardiff City Stadium, and their predictions for the 2026-27 campaign.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Cardiff City boss Sabri Lamouchi has been sacked as Tunisia head coach following their 5-1 defeat by Sweden in their opening World Cup fixture.

Reports after that loss suggested Lamouchi had been immediately sacked but sources told BBC Sport that the 54-year-old took training on Monday.

However, the Tunisian Football Association has now confirmed that the Frenchman's contract has been terminated by "mutual agreement".

Lamouchi's departure means he is the first manager in World Cup history to be sacked after just one game.

The 54-year-old Frenchman was in charge at Cardiff for four months, signing a short-term contract in January 2023.

He oversaw six wins in 18 games to keep the Bluebirds in the Championship, but despite saying he was open to extending his stay in south Wales, in May 2023 owner Vincent Tan decided not to offer Lamouchi a new contract.

The former Nottingham Forest boss then managed two clubs in Saudi Arabia before being appointed Tunisia coach in January 2026.

He won just one of his five games with the North African country - a 1-0 victory over Haiti in his first game in charge.

In their two warm-up games for the World Cup earlier this month, they lost 1-0 to Austria before suffering a 5-0 thrashing by Belgium.

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Brian Barry-Murphy celebrates one year in charge of Cardiff City today (16 June), little more than a month after guiding the Bluebirds back into the Championship.

The Irishman signed a three-year contract with the club last summer and led Cardiff to automatic promotion from League One in his debut campaign in the Welsh capital.

Cardiff were victorious in 27 of their 46 league games last season at a win rate of 58.7%.

Their 91 points came at an impressive rate of 1.98 points per game.

They also bagged a league-high of 90 goals in the third tier last season at a rate of 1.96 goals per game.

In addition to their stunning exploits in the league, Cardiff enjoyed a memorable run to the quarter-finals of the League Cup.

The Bluebirds beat Swindon Town and Cheltenham Town on their own patch before securing successive away triumphs over Burnley and Wrexham.

The run was ultimately ended by Premier League Chelsea who beat the Bluebirds 3-1 in the Welsh capital in December.

But with all cup competitions included, Barry-Murphy has a win rate of 58.9% from his 56 competitive matches as head coach so far.

The 47-year-old was twice named EFL League One Manager of the Month in his debut campaign in south Wales.

And having led the club back into the second tier at the first attempt, Barry-Murphy is now seeking to continue his remarkable record at Cardiff so far in 2026-27.

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Former Cardiff City striker Ross McCormack is delighted his former club has made a swift return to the Championship after one season spent in League One.

The 39-year-old ex-Scotland forward believes that the Bluebirds are capable of pushing for at least a place in the play-offs - providing Brian Barry-Murphy's side get their recruitment right over the summer.

"Very impressed, manager's first full season in charge and to get promotion out of any league is difficult, so to go and do that the first time asking was great for them," he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"I was watching at one point last year, they were neck and neck with Lincoln. I'm thinking go on then, go and get over the line, go and win the league.

"But they kind of fell away a little bit towards the end and Lincoln sort of ran away with it, but that doesn't matter - the main thing is that they're back in the Championship this season.

"I think looking at the league this season, they've got to look at probably [the example] of Ipswich a few years ago, Wrexham last season nearly getting into the play-offs, and have got to believe that they can achieve it.

"I think it'll be a tight division this year. There's some big clubs there, but I think Cardiff [with] maybe three, four signings and they can really go and have a go at the play-offs.

"I think it'll be tight. I think there'll be probably 12, 13, 14 clubs believing that they can get to the play-offs, so why can't Cardiff be one of them?"

Image source, Rob Stead/Wrexham AFC

Adran Premier champions Wrexham Women have signed Mikayla Cook after her departure from Cardiff City Women.

Left-sided defender Cook, 21, scored 23 goals in 85 appearances for the Bluebirds after coming through the club's youth ranks.

The three-time Adran Premier title winner scored nine goals in the 2025-26 league campaign.

"Looking at this club now to what it was when they were first promoted to the Adran Premier, the development has been unbelievable," Cook said.

"I'm looking forward to seeing things now on the inside and seeing what we can achieve together."

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Promising youngster Robert Tankiewicz has signed his first professional contract at Cardiff City.

Midfielder Tankiewicz became Cardiff's youngest senior debutant when he faced Newport County in the EFL Trophy last October at the age of 16 years and 117 days, though the record was rapidly broken by fellow academy player Axel Donczew.

Cardiff announced Tankiewicz's pro deal on his 17th birthday, but have not specified the length of the contract.

"I've been here since [joining at] under-9s [level], so going into this season I'm definitely very excited and looking forward the campaign ahead," the Wales Under-19s international said.

"I'm definitely looking forward to showing what I'm capable of."

Tankiewicz made his second Cardiff appearance - and his first in the league - when he came off the bench against Northampton in April.

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

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Chelsea forward Omari Kellyman is set for another loan move this summer.

The 20-year-old suffered a series of hamstring injuries, culminating in surgery, after his £19m move from Aston Villa at the start of the 2024-25 season.

Kellyman scored 11 goals and provided two assists in 36 matches while on loan at Cardiff City, helping the League One side secure promotion, while carefully managing his minutes to rebuild his fitness.

That form has provided him with a platform for another loan at a higher level, with potential options in Europe being considered.

However, any overseas move may be limited by Fifa regulations, which allow a maximum of six international loan slots per club.

Kellyman is also attracting interest from a number of Championship clubs, and Chelsea are keen for him to continue gaining experience and proving his fitness next season before returning to Stamford Bridge.

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Cardiff City defenders Joel Bagan and Dylan Lawlor have been named in BBC Sport's League One team of the season.

Both players are graduates of the Bluebirds academy and played a key role as Brian Barry-Murphy's side secured an instant return to the Championship.

Bagan, 24, scored once in 52 games in all competitions during the season and recently signed a new four-year contract with Cardiff.

Lawlor, 20, made over 30 league appearances in his breakthrough season for the club and has also established himself in Craig Bellamy's senior Wales team.

The two players were recognised in BBC Sport's first end-of-season football awards.

Voted for by our expert pundits, dedicated team of journalists, and specialist football programme makers, these awards celebrate the players who starred in the Premier League, Women's Super League, Scottish Premiership and EFL in 2025-26.

Image source, BBC Sport