Cardiff City 1-0 Birmingham City: Match Report, Goals, Stats and Ratings
Championship Matchday 12 · Saturday 24 October 2026 · Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff · referee T. Robinson · full time
Full time: Cardiff City 1-0 Birmingham City
Cardiff City 1-0 Birmingham City: Cardiff City took the points in Championship Matchday 12 on Saturday 24 October 2026 at Cardiff City Stadium. The goals: Yousef Salech 31'.
How Cardiff City won it
Cardiff City struck first through Yousef Salech in the 31st minute, set up by Ollie Tanner.
It was 1-0 at half-time, and nothing changed after the break.
The referee, T. Robinson, showed 4 yellow cards: 1 to Cardiff City and 3 to Birmingham City. Yousef Salech missed a penalty for Cardiff City in the 22 minute.
Cardiff City: B. Barry-Murphy, 4-2-3-1 · Birmingham City: C. Davies, 4-2-3-1.
Moneyball's prediction against the result
Moneyball did not publish a pre-match estimate for this match, so there is nothing to mark it against.
Why it went this way
On the day the expected goals were 1.16 for Cardiff City and 2.75 for Birmingham City.
Birmingham City left about 2.7 goals' worth of chances on the pitch.
Birmingham City created the better chances, 2.75 xG to 1.16, and still lost. On chances alone, the result could easily have gone the other way.
Cardiff City had 4 shots on target, Birmingham City 2.
Cardiff City had 51% of the ball and turned it into the win.
Where the two sides stood before this match
Cardiff City came into it with 12 Championship matches played, scoring 1.6 and conceding 1.4 a match, with 2.04 expected goals for and 1.54 against, and had won 25% of their matches.
Birmingham City came into it with 12 Championship matches played, scoring 1.7 and conceding 1.0 a match, with 1.72 expected goals for and 1.36 against, and had won 42% of their matches.
Cardiff City vs Birmingham City: the match in numbers
| Cardiff City | Match statistics | Birmingham City |
|---|---|---|
| 51% | Ball possession | 49% |
| 1.16 | Expected goals (xG) | 2.75 |
| 16 | Total shots | 7 |
| 4 | Shots on target | 2 |
| 5 | Big chances | 2 |
| 415 | Total passes | 388 |
| 73% | Pass accuracy | 72% |
| 3 | Corners | 3 |
| 10 | Fouls | 19 |
| 2 | Offsides | 4 |
| 16 | Tackles | 11 |
| 2 | Saves | 3 |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 2 |
Team statistics from Sportmonks.
Player ratings and man of the match
Man of the match: Jack Moylan (Cardiff City), rated 7.9 by Sportmonks.
Cardiff City
- Jack Moylan 7.9
- Perry Ng 7.7
- Will Fish 7.5
- Alex Robertson 7.4
- Joel Bagan 7.2
Birmingham City
- Phil Neumann 7.1
- J. Beadle 7.1
- Alex Cochrane 6.8
- Max Bird 6.8
- Liam Millar 6.6
The lowest-rated starter was Bright Osayi-Samuel at 6.1. Ratings run from 0 to 10; around 7.0 is a solid match.
What comes next
- Cardiff City: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Cardiff City Saturday 31 October 2026 · Championship
- Birmingham City: Lincoln City vs Birmingham City Saturday 31 October 2026 · Championship
Each preview has Moneyball's estimate for the next match, published before kick-off and marked against the result afterwards, as this one is.
Questions about Cardiff City vs Birmingham City
What was the score in Cardiff City vs Birmingham City?
Cardiff City 1-0 Birmingham City (half-time 1-0), Championship, Saturday 24 October 2026.
Who scored in Cardiff City vs Birmingham City?
Yousef Salech 31'.
Did Moneyball predict Cardiff City vs Birmingham City correctly?
Moneyball did not publish a pre-match estimate for this match, so there is nothing to mark it against.
Who was man of the match in Cardiff City vs Birmingham City?
Jack Moylan, rated 7.9 by Sportmonks.
Who refereed Cardiff City vs Birmingham City?
T. Robinson.
Every match, before and after
Moneyball Odds writes a preview with its estimate before every match of Europe's top five leagues and the European cups, then marks it against the result, hits and misses alike.
Moneyball Odds is a statistical analysis site, not a bookmaker. No model predicts football reliably. For readers aged 18 and over.