Peterborough United will have to stand strong to get the better of Championship powerhouses, no Lee Tomlin in the Cardiff City squad

Cardiff are managed by Mick McCarthy who is expected to employ a direct style of play with a big emphasis on set-pieces. He will have noticed Posh have conceded from a corner in each of their first two Championship matches.

Posh, who got off the mark with a 2-1 win over Derby County at London Road on Saturday, will again be without key men Sammie Szmodics and Jack Taylor and manager Darren Ferguson is determined not to risk the long-term health of forwards Jonson Clarke-Harris, Siriki Dembele and Jack Marriott by over-playing them. The FA charge for Clarke-Harris over historical social media comments will not affect Ferguson’s planning.

“I won’t risk any injuries by playing people too much,” Ferguson insisted. “That means the front three as none of them have played much football this summer. I have to keep managing their minutes. It would be a struggle for any of them to get 90 minutes.

“It was a big win for us on Saturday and the manner of the win with two goals in injury time made it even better. Our fitness looked good and our confidence and self-belief should improve because of it. It was an important result.

“But back-to-back Championship wins would be huge. A strong home record will again be important to us, but we will have to do certain things very well to win tonight.

“Mick McCarthy is a very experienced manager who knows the Championship well. His team will get the ball forward quickly, they will get it into our penalty area and they will be in our faces. We will have to stand up to that.

“But our spirit is good and defensively we looked very solid against Cardiff.”

Former Posh player Lee Tomlin is injured and won’t be in the Cardiff squad.