Harlequins vs Cardiff Preview & Tips - Massive win tipped for Quins against depleted Blues

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: 16 Dec 2021

Ralph Staniforth 16 Dec 2021

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Harlequins vs Cardiff predictions for Saturday’s European Champions Cup match
Fixture is being played at 13:00 GMT at Twickenham Stoop
Can Quins win back-to-back in Europe?
Preview, predictions, stats & team news

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Harlequins too strong at home (Getty Images)

Harlequins vs Cardiff Preview & Tips

Cardiff Blues are very much depleted with 32 frontline players in quarantine. They will have an uphill battle against a Quins side looking for a bonus point win. My best bet is for the hosts to win by 25+ points.

Harlequins vs Cardiff Preview & Tips
Head to Head
Harlequins Form
Harlequins Team News
Cardiff Form
Cardiff Team News
Harlequins vs Cardiff FAQ

Harlequins have won their last 2 matches against Cardiff.
Cardiff have 32 frontline players unavailable
Cardiff lost their last match by 32 points.
Cardiff have lost 3 of their last 5 matches.

Head to Head

Cardiff has won three of their last five against Harlequins but it is the English club who has won the last two. In their last encounter back in 2016 the Quins won 34-26 at home.

Harlequins Form

Harlequins season has thus far being a bit up and down. They are not quite at the level that allowed them to win the Rugby Premiership against all odds last season.

Over their last five matches in all competitions, not one has ended with the winning margin being greater than seven points.

A nail-biting 26-25 home win over Northampton was followed by a 22-19 home defeat to London Irish. Another defeat followed (16-14) followed at Leicester Tigers.

In their opening European Champions Cup match last weekend, the Quins managed a narrow 20-18 win at Castres. While not a perfect performance, it was a fantastic way to get their European challenge on track.

Harlequins Team News

Harlequins will be close to full strength, as they were last weekend in their victory against Castres. With Cardiff severely weakened a bonus point win will be the goal.

Cardiff Form

The Cardiff Blues have started the season very much as expected. Without shooting the lights out, the Blues have been reasonably consistent in the United Rugby Championship.

The Cardiff-based outfit beat the Sharks 23-17 at home and then saw off local rivals, Newport 31-29 on home soil. Those two wins followed two defeats to Ospreys and the Bulls.

Last week Cardiff were humbled 39-7 at home against Toulouse in the Champions Cup. While the French outfit were always favourites, it didn’t help that the Blues had a number of player quarantining due to COVID.

Cardiff Team News

Samoan centre Rey Lee-Lo is available for this match after serving a suspension. That is a boost to the Cardiff side as head coach Gruff Rees still has the same squad as last week to choose from.

All 32 frontline players who were quarantining last week remain unavailable this weekend.