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Championship: Cardiff City and Swansea City eye progress as they return to action

By Gareth VincentBBC Sport Wales
Joe Ralls and Matt Grimes
Swansea beat Cardiff 2-0 in October to become the first side to claim three successive south Wales derby league wins

The World Cup continues, but the Championship's mid-season break is at an end.

Swansea City, who are eighth, and Cardiff City, who lie 19th, return to action this Saturday.

Swansea host Russell Martin's former club, Norwich City, while Mark Hudson takes Cardiff to Stoke City.

BBC Sport Wales assesses how this season has gone for the two Welsh clubs and what might lie ahead.

The story so far

We are not quite at the halfway point in the 2022-23 campaign - most Championship clubs have played 21 of their 46 games - but this unfamiliar, 28-day break has allowed staff and players to contemplate what they have got right and what must be better.

Swansea have shown promising signs in the first section of the season, and are on course to improve significantly on last year's 15th-placed finish.

They are outside the play-off places on goal difference alone - and the feeling within the dressing room is that they ought to be better placed at this stage.

It looked like being a long campaign when Swansea won just one of their first eight matches in all competitions.

But a run of seven wins in their next nine league outings propelled Martin's side up the table.

They are just outside the top six despite failing to win any of their last five games - although four of those were draws - and even though last season's key attacking players have not yet hit the same heights in this campaign.

If Joel Piroe, Michael Obafemi and Jamie Paterson can step up in the months ahead - and Joe Allen can stay fit - Swansea could become genuine promotion contenders.

Joel Piroe
Joel Piroe has scored five goals so far this season, having managed 24 in his debut Swansea campaign

For Cardiff, a push for the play-offs this season looks unlikely - but then stranger things have happened in the Championship.

A glance at the table gives an indication of where Cardiff's problems lie, for their tally of 17 goals scored is the lowest in the division.

How does Hudson change that miserable record? The January window may help, of course, but the Cardiff boss needs more from his current players.

There was anticipation in the Cardiff City Stadium air at the start of the season, following Steve Morison's overhaul of the squad which finished 18th last term.

But Morison was sacked after just 10 games of this campaign - the Bluebirds were 18th at the time - and replaced by Hudson, who had been his assistant.

The former Cardiff captain is a popular figure among fans, but has not yet been able to produce enough consistency to lead his side up the table.

Seven points came from Hudson's first three games, but there have been six defeats in eight since then - including another derby loss to Swansea - leaving Cardiff hoping for much better in the months ahead.

What shape are they in?

Allen's hamstring issues have been a big talking point this season but, after his return to action at the World Cup, Swansea hope the midfielder can now play a full part for them.

That would be a huge boost for Martin's team, for Allen had arguably been their best player before injury struck in September.

Paterson, who scored nine times last season but is yet to find the target in this campaign, is another experienced figure hoping for a consistent run of fitness and form.

The only definite absentee when Swansea face Norwich is Liam Walsh, who is back on the grass after rupturing his Achilles in pre-season.

Rubin Colwill
Cardiff's Rubin Colwill has started only one league game so far this season

Cardiff will be hoping two of their rising Welsh stars can soon make an impact on this season, with Rubin Colwill back having featured briefly at the World Cup and Isaak Davies closing on a first-team return after seven months out with a knee problem.

It remains to be seen when Jadon Philogene (hernia) and Ebou Adams (shoulder) will be available, as well as whether Sean Morrison might come back into the first-team fold.

What can they hope for?

For both Swansea and Cardiff, the ultimate goal is a return to the Premier League.

It would be a surprise should either side get there this season, although Swansea are firmly in the play-off picture as things stand.

Martin, who has been in charge for just over 16 months, believes his team are growing all the time - and further progress between now and May could mean a crack at the play-offs.

Cardiff's lack of consistency - they have won back-to-back games only once this season - means the first target for Hudson's team is to pull clear of relegation danger, for they are just a point above the bottom three as things stand.

Manage that during the winter months and the capital-city club may then be able to contemplate a push for the top six in the latter stages of the campaign.

Pundits' view

Andy Robinson on Swansea: "Russell Martin has had time now to make his mark on the group and has brought some of his players in. The squad depth is much better than it was and the experience the younger players have had in the first half of the season will stand them in good stead.

"In the Championship you are a couple of wins from being near the top of the league and a couple of defeats from being down at the bottom, so it's about consistency.

"I have always said it's going to take more than one season with Russell Martin, it's going to be a two- or three-year process.

"Swansea have played really well against some of the top sides this season, while in the last four or five games before the break I don't think they were great but they only lost once, which is a good sign.

"They still need to eradicate some of the errors. If they do that, they'll have as good a chance as anyone towards the end of the season."

Andy Legg on Cardiff: "They gave Steve Morison the job and brought in 17 new players. I know it takes time to gel a team, but I expected better than what has come out of that so far.

"It's been a little bit disappointing, but I have been quite impressed with them lately. I think some things went against them, like the [Jack Simpson] red card at QPR and [Callum] Robinson at Swansea, but the performances haven't been too bad.

"I have been impressed with [Jaden] Philogene. I like him on the ball - he is a bright spark and can create problems.

"I think Mark Hudson needs to be given some time. I am glad he has brought in his own coach (Dean Whitehead) because you looked at his bench and he couldn't call on anyone with any experience. Hopefully that will settle down now.

"I don't expect them to get promoted and I don't expect them to get relegated - I think they are just going to see the season out around mid-table. If they can put a run together you never now, but I can't see it."