Team news

Bluebirds in rude health Cardiff boss Dave Jones again has the luxury of a virtually fully-fit squad for the visit of relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday.

Solomon Taiwo, who last featured back in February, is expected to miss the rest of the season as he prepares to undergo a hip operation.

The midfielder joins long-term absentees Gavin Rae (ankle and knee) and Miguel Comminges (knee) on the sidelines.

Otherwise, Jones is at full strength and determined to see his side maintain their momentum over the remaining two games of the campaign despite already clinching a play-off place.

The Bluebirds boss has called on his charges to try and snatch third spot away from Nottingham Forest, meaning the Owls can expect no favours as they travel to the Welsh capital looking for all three points to give them a chance of avoiding the drop.

Yet whether Jones opts to make changes and freshen up his XI ahead of next month`s play-offs remains to be seen.

Owls boss Alan Irvine also boasts an almost full squad for the clash.

Sean McAllister (stomach) and Lewis Buxton (hamstring) have both returned to training after recovering from their respective injuries and will be in contention for a place in the squad.

On-loan Preston defender Eddie Nolan twisted his ankle in last Sunday's 1-1 draw against Steel City rivals Sheffield United, but has shown no ill-effects in training and will be available for selection.

Midfielder Tommy Miller (calf) is the only injury absentee for the Owls.

Cardiff 3-2 Sheff Wed

Last modified 15:29 26/04/10

Diary dates to avoid in South Yorkshire surely included last night’s Player of the Year awards at Sheffield Wednesday.

Even boss Alan Irvine was embarrassed as he said: “It’s unfortunate, but it was planned long ago.”

But with his stricken side on the brink of crashing into League One, Irvine faces an even grimmer appointment tonight when he travels to London to watch Crystal Palace face West Brom.

“It’s going to be a long, long night for me – and for Palace,” said the Scot.

And you can understand why. If Palace beat an Albion side already promoted then Wednesday’s fate is sealed.

If they don’t, then Irvine’s team are handed a lifeline. They would then need to beat Palace at Hillsbrough next Sunday to seal an unlikely survival.

“It’s going to be torture for us and for Palace. I’ve never been in this position before so I don’t know how I’ll feel,” said Irvine.

“I could hide away at home and watch the game on the telly. But that’s not the way I do the job.

“I should be there to watch Palace anyway. We play them next weekend and, no matter what’s at stake, I’ll get an idea of how they play.”

Irvine’s initial impact when he joined the Owls in January was huge – they won five of their first seven games under him.

Since then the wheels have come off. “We haven’t scored enough goals,” he admitted. “It’s ironic to get two today and still lose.”

Cardiff, in contrast, have an attacking potency that few in the Championship can match.

Peter Whittingham struck his 23rd goal of the season, an unstoppable 18th-minute free kick just 90 seconds after Jermaine Johnson had snatched the lead for Wednesday.

Then Jay Bothroyd dismantled Wednesday’s offside trap as he raced on to Stephen McPhail’s 40-yard pass to slot home.

Marcus Tudgay squeezed home an equaliser, but Bothroyd won it two minutes later with the goal of the game, cutting past three defenders before firing past Lee Grant.