Cardiff City have been backed by David Prutton to beat Fulham in Monday’s play-off semi-final first-leg.

The regular season only finished on Wednesday, but this pair have just days to prepare for their meeting in the Welsh capital on Monday.

Neil Harris’ Bluebirds finished fifth in the table, eight points adrift of Scott Parker’s Fulham side.

Quiz: Do you know what shirt number each of these 14 Cardiff City players wear?

However, The Cottagers go up against a Cardiff side on the back of three consecutive wins and Prutton is expecting them to make home advantage count when they meet on Monday.

Writing in his prediction column for Sky Sports, Prutton said:“The Bluebirds stuttered at the start of the season, but their form since Neil Harris took over in November has been brilliant - they lost just six of his 30 league games in charge - and they fully deserve their place in the play-offs. They ended the season by winning three on the spin, too, which will do their confidence the world of good. 

"It hasn't always been pretty, but Fulham have been almost unbeatable since the restart in June with their ability to grind out results at the right time. They got back under way with two defeats, which ultimately knocked them from top-two contention but have conceded just five goals in the seven games since. This will be very tight, but I'm backing Cardiff to edge it.” 

In this fixture earlier in the season, Cardiff were held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham, with Aleksandar Mitrovic’s strike cancelling out Josh Murphy’s goal.

The pair met only a few weeks ago at Craven Cottage, with Parker’s side 2-0 winners thanks to a Mitrovic penalty and Josh Onomah strike.

The Verdict  

In truth, there was little between these two sides in their meetings earlier this season.

Although eight points separated them in the Championship table, Cardiff have improved under Harris and this is going to be a really tight clash.

The Bluebirds will make things difficult, but Fulham have the Championship’s Golden Boot winner in the form of Mitrovic.

He struck twice – home and away – against Cardiff in the regular season and he will be looking to add to his tally on Monday.

Our prediction? First-leg draw, but Fulham to progress to Wembley.

Thoughts? Let us know!