Championship football sees a full programme of fixtures on December 29.

For Cardiff City and Swansea City, it’s an opportunity to spring surprises since both have matches where they will carry underdog status.

Cardiff are at home to runaway leaders Leicester City, while Swansea are at Coventry who are unbeaten in their last five matches.

But Erol Bulut insists Cardiff can do what no Championship club has done since the start of November – beat Leicester.

The Bluebirds host the high-flying Foxes, desperate for three points to re-energise their push to be among the play-off places.

Leicester present the toughest opposition possible as the league leaders are six points clear of Ipswich Town at the top and haven’t lost in eight matches since they were beaten by Middlesbrough.

Bulut’s side fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat at the Ling Power Stadium back in August and Bulut says: “We will give everything to get points against Leicester, but you have to see what you have in your hand and what the opponent has in theirs.

“When you compare, we have to ask if it is possible.

“I think, when we are well-concentrated, when you see the game at Leicester, how we played there, we could have won.

“We lost the game in the 92nd minute. Before that, we had two or three chances to lead. We couldn’t manage to score and they did, so it could have been different.”

Even though they are 11^th in the table at present, a victory for Cardiff could potentially lift them back into the top six, if other results go in their favour.

But whatever the outcome against the strongest squad in the division, Bulut is clear he needs to strengthen his own resources in the January transfer window.

Cardiff have been unable to sign players for fees since 2022 because of a transfer ban that has now been lifted and Bulut says he has made his requirement known to chairman Mehmet Dalman and owner Vincent Tan.

“I think our owner Vincent Tan knows from our chairman (Mehmet Dalman) what we have to do, because I had talks with (Dalman),” Bulut said.

“These are only good things for Cardiff City. I am asking for players [who can help] push a little bit more, or stay in the level we are in right now.

“We are only two points away from the play-offs. I said always we want to be around there,” Bulut added.

“But the second part of the season will be more difficult in my opinion, so we have to do something.”

Swansea City are still in a state of managerial limbo with Alan Sheehan continuing as caretaker coach for the trip to in-form Coventry.

The sense of dangerous drift at the club was highlighted in their most recent performance – a 5-0 hammering at Southampton, now led by former Swans head coach Russell Martin.

With Stoke City, Millwall and Huddersfield – all clubs beneath the Swans – winning last time out, another defeat for Sheehan’s side will pull them closer towards a relegation struggle.

That could put off any potential new head coach and prolong their search for a replacement to Michael Duff, who was dismissed at the start of December.

All we can focus on is making sure we prepare the team as well as we can, that’s what we’ve been trying to do over these last number of games,” said Sheehan.