"Ran the midfield against Jude Bellingham" - Omer Riza urged to start Cardiff City star v Plymouth Argyle | OneFootball

FLW's Cardiff City fan pundit has given his view on whether caretaker manager Omer Riza should make changes against Plymouth Argyle.

This article is part of Football League World’s 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Cardiff City will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to three games when they host Plymouth Argyle in South Wales on Saturday.

It was a disastrous start to the season for Cardiff, and manager Erol Bulut was sacked last month after his side picked up just one point from their first six league games of the campaign.

Omer Riza has been in caretaker charge of the Bluebirds since Bulut's exit, and after leading them to their first win of the season against Millwall, he oversaw a 1-1 draw against Bristol City at Ashton Gate before the international break.

There has been a clear improvement in performances and results under Riza, but Cardiff remain bottom of the Championship table, and they are three points from safety ahead of this weekend's game against 14th-placed Plymouth.

Riza has confirmed that he is keen to land the job on a permanent basis, but while the 44-year-old is set to be given an extended run in the role, it seems the Bluebirds board are considering a number of external candidates.

The likes of Tony Mowbray, Steven Schumacher, Alex Neil, Slaven Bilic, Claude Makelele, Nathan Jones and Ruben Selles have all been linked with Cardiff, and former Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe admitted he would be interested in holding talks over the vacancy, but an appointment does not seem to be imminent.

Omer Riza told to make Joe Ralls, Manolis Siopis change against Plymouth

When asked whether Riza should make any changes against Plymouth on Saturday, FLW's Cardiff City fan pundit Jack Price said the caretaker boss should consider replacing captain Joe Ralls with Manolis Siopis in midfield after his impressive performances for Greece during the international break.

"Ahead of Cardiff's home game against Plymouth on Saturday, there's really not a lot I'd be looking to do to the squad," Jack said.

"Cardiff claimed a 1-1 draw in the Severnside derby against Bristol City before the break, following up from our first win of the season against Millwall.

"They were two very good performances.

"The only reason why the Severnside derby didn't end in all three points is because Omer Riza decided to throw everybody behind the ball after we went 1-0 up, but it was a good performance.

"The result was frustrating, but it didn't take away from that.

"There isn't a lot I'd be doing with the squad, the only tweak I'd consider making is swapping Joe Ralls in midfield for Manolis Siopis.

"Even then, I wouldn't say that's an absolute certainty because a lot of the players have performed well in the last few games.

"Siopis was excellent for Greece in their win against England, and it was like watching a completely different player.

"The way he ran the midfield against Jude Bellingham and a real star-studded England side, he didn't look out of place.

"Why haven't we seen that player at Cardiff? Who knows, there's probably a lot of reasons behind that.

"But I do want to see him in that double pivot in midfield alongside Alex Robertson.

"Siopis is like a Duracell bunny, he's very, very energic, he's everywhere, he's always mopping up doing the dirty work.

"In contrast, Robertson is very, very technical and has the talent to one day play in the Premier League.

"He can run the tempo with the way he can break lines in midfield, his long-range passing is excellent and he's so good and silky on the ball.

"I think those two skills sets compliment each other really well.

"We've only seen Siopis and Robertson start twice together in midfield this season, one of those was in the South Wales derby and the other was in a 2-0 home defeat to Middlesbrough, where Robertson was actually hauled off on the hour mark, despite being our best player.

"I would really want to see Siopis and Robertson try to nail down a partnership in midfield because I think if they find some chemistry together, that could give us a really strong dynamic in the middle of the park.

"But as I say, nothing else apart from that, and I would be a bit confused if there were more than one or two changes going into the Plymouth game."

Omer Riza must start Manolis Siopis against Plymouth Argyle

It is difficult to disagree with Jack that Riza should consider starting Siopis against Plymouth this weekend.

Siopis started both games for Greece against England and the Republic of Ireland during the international break, and he played a crucial role as his side claimed a famous victory at Wembley last week.

The 30-year-old has struggled to produce his best form consistently since joining Cardiff last summer, but his confidence will be high after his impressive international performances, and it could be the perfect time to restore him to the starting line-up and allow him to build a partnership with Alex Robertson.

However, given that Siopis has made just one substitute appearance under Riza so far, it seems likely that he will stick with Ralls and Robertson in midfield for the visit of Wayne Rooney's side.