The Big Kick-Off, the Racing Post's annual 80-page football betting guide, was published on Wednesday and it's fair to say their pundits don't rate City's chances for the coming campaign.

The Post has predicted the Bluebirds will get relegated and finish above only Huddersfield and QPR. Their brief verdict on City reads as follows:

"Cardiff would have been relegated last season if Reading had not been hit by a six-point deduction and they will need to improve significantly over the next ten months. The Bluebirds have switched managers, with Erol Bulut replacing Sabri Lamouchi, but despite signing Aaron Ramsey, their player recruitment has been unconvincing."

The Post's predictions for the Championship top ten are as follows:

1 - Leicester City
2 - Middlesbrough
3 - Southampton
4 - Norwich City
5 - Swansea City
6 - Ipswich Town
7 - Leeds United
8 - Sunderland
9 - West Bromwich Albion
10 - Watford

Meanwhile, they think the bottom six will look like this:

19 - Birmingham City
20 - Plymouth Argyle
21 - Rotherham United
22 - Cardiff City
23 - Huddersfield Town
24 - Queens Park Rangers

As I mentioned in a previous betting thread, I've been surprised by how negatively the bookmakers and many pundits seem to be viewing City's chances this season. While fair and reasonable cases can certainly be made against all of the players Bulut has brought in so far this summer, I've felt pretty positive about most of them and the other fans I've spoken to also seem to be cautiously optimistic. While nobody I've talked to is expecting a promotion push of any kind, most of us seem to believe a comfortable mid-table finish should be well within reach. However, those looking at the situation from further afield don't appear to agree.