By Graham Thomas
Omer Riza insists Cardiff City will give the FA Cup their full respect and attention when they visit Stoke City on Saturday.
The Bluebirds manager is unlikely to be judged on the length of any Cup run when owner Vincent Tan makes a call at the end of the season as to whether Riza stays in charge or not.
But the much-travelled former striker has been around the block enough times to know that knockout football causes ripples beyond the tournament itself.
He can point to the evidence of Cardiff’s third round win at Sheffield United as proof enough of that.
His team had won once in 12 matches before they went to Bramall Lane in early January.
But their victory – thanks to a Cian Ashford goal – solidified a revival that was tentatively taking shape in their league form.
After the third round win, Cardiff remained unbeaten in four further matches in the Championship before last weekend’s gear-crunching 7-0 reverse at leaders, Leeds United.
“I want to win this game,” said Riza.
“From that game, you could be in the fifth round and you don’t know who you could get.
“It’s another game and it could be a good game. So, I just want to win and keep momentum going, that’s what’s important for me and the team.”
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Cardiff City Community Partner, Beesure would like to wish the lads all the best ahead of the fixture against Stoke City!https://t.co/9Q6YDpc8Nk pic.twitter.com/yYiPFiBm19
— Cardiff City Community Partnership (@CardiffCityCP) February 7, 2025
Stoke are currently one place above Cardiff in the Championship table, in 18th spot, and are coming off the back of an important 2-1 away win at Hull City.
Mark Robins, the former Coventry City manager, has steadied the ship with the Potters and they have only lost once in seven games in all competitions, although four of those matches ended in draws.
“It’s a different team now under Mark Robins,” added Riza, whose team drew 2-2 at Stoke in mid-December.
“They were tough, hard to play against, but we really should have won the game.
“They’re always an industrious team. The crowd expect them to work hard first and foremost, before anything else.
“That’s what you’re going to get from them. With Robins going there, the style of play may have changed a little bit, but we’re focused on ourselves to go and win the game.”
The Cup tie could be given added significance for Cardiff if Aaron Ramsey makes his first start for five months.
The Wales captain has finally recovered from a hamstring injury and made a 45-minute comeback in the club’s U21 team last week.
Whether a cold afternoon at Stoke is the right place to test his fitness remains to be seen. It was at the Bet365 Stadium that Ramsey suffered a broken leg back in his Arsenal days.
“He has just had really bad luck with injuries, not being able to sustain long periods of playing,” added Riza.
“Hopefully, he will get over that and be able to play. But we will have to manage him. The medical and coaching staff, Rambo, we are all in discussions all the time regarding it all.”
Whilst Cardiff are in FA Cup action, Swansea City – who went out of the competition at the first hurdle – have a tough-looking Championship fixture away at Bristol City on Sunday.
The Swans have had the kind of run that would set off loud alarms, whatever the circumstances. But given they displayed their normal January meltdown in the transfer window, their fall looks all the more precarious.
Bristol City are where Swansea aspired to be a couple of months ago – on the fringes of the play-off race.
The Robins are not the biggest-spending club in the Championship by any means, but they are run with a degree of competence that the Swans cannot currently match, which is why they are ninth in the table and the Swans are 17th.
The worry for Swansea and their head coach Luke Williams should be that although they remain seven points clear of the relegation zone, if Luton and Derby were to suddenly turn their form around as Plymouth have done, then that gap will quickly narrow.
League One promotion hopefuls Wrexham are without a game this weekend since their intended opponents Leyton Orient have a plum FA Cup tie at home to Manchester City.
Newport County – chasing a third successive win to move further clear of the danger zone in League Two – are away to Crewe. DragonBet make Cardiff 9/4 outsiders to win at Stoke, with the home side at 23/23. Swansea are also a long shot to beat Bristol City at 31/10, with the Robins priced 17/20. Newport are also not fancied much to win at Crewe and are 9/2.
Will Alves Can Fill Missing Link, Says Cardiff City Boss Omer Riza