Cardiff City suffered a blow in their quest for a Championship play-off spot as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Neil Harris' side had entered the match following a seven-game unbeaten run in the Championship which included wins over the likes of West Brom and Huddersfield, but the Bluebirds could not keep their strong run going against the Potters.

Cardiff fell behind to Callum Paterson's own goal after 25 minutes and Stoke then doubled their lead when Wales international Joe Allen netted in the 72nd minute, with this condemning the Bluebirds to a rare league defeat under Harris' management.

The loss represents just the third time that Cardiff have lost in the Championship since Harris' appointment, with the Welsh side now sitting 10th in the Championship table and a total of six points adrift from the play-off spots.

Here, we take a look at three things we learned from Cardiff's defeat in the Potteries...

Lee Tomlin was a big miss for the Bluebirds

Tomlin missed Saturday's clash due to a knee injury suffered in training towards the end of last week, and it has since been confirmed by Harris that the attacking midfielder will now miss between six and eight weeks of action due to the issue.

This comes as a massive blow to Cardiff's promotion hopes given how much they have relied on Tomlin this term, and his absence was definitely noticeable during the Stoke defeat as the Bluebirds lacked an element of creativity in attack.

Harris' biggest problem will now be finding a way to fill the void left by Tomlin over the coming weeks with the likes of Josh Murphy, Junior Hoilett and Albert Adomah now needing to step up in the 31-year-old's absence.

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Harris still doesn't know his best strike force 

Harris plumped for Danny Ward alongside regular starter Paterson in attack with Tomlin absent, but this combination did not quite click for the Bluebirds prior to Ward being substituted in the 69th minute just before Stoke netted their second goal.

It remains to be seen whether Harris persists with this partnership over the coming matches as they adapt to life without Tomlin, but there will be many Cardiff supporters keen to see Robert Glatzel get another starting chance in the side.

The Bluebirds' marquee summer signing has struggled to adapt to life in South Wales since his move from Heidenheim, but he perhaps now deserves a prolonged run in the starting line-up after featuring in one of Cardiff's last five matches.

Albert Adomah looked a threat

Adomah has now started four consecutive league matches for the Bluebirds since the completion of his loan move from Nottingham Forest, and the winger once again looked capable of providing a serious threat against Stoke on Saturday.

The 32-year-old was perhaps Cardiff's stand-out performer during a disappointing day at the bet365 Stadium, with Adomah showcasing his capability to run at defenders on several occasions throughout the clash with the Potters.

Adomah will certainly be a key player in helping the Bluebirds to get their play-off bid back on track following this weekend's loss, and Cardiff may need to depend on the winger's creativity without the services of Tomlin.