All roads lead to Wales today as we face a Cardiff City side who enjoyed an unbeaten October, securing 11 out of a possible 15 points.

It's a record that represents a major leap forward, especially after the Bluebirds scored just two goals in the entire span of August and September during Erol Bulut’s reign.

Interim chief Omer Riza’s impact has been evident, so the task of bringing home three points will not be an easy one, especially without our midfield fulcrum of Marcelino Nunez and Kenny McLean.

Johannes Hoff Thorup and his players have also enjoyed an October without losing any games, but will want to collect all three points for the first time since that romp over Hull City, nearly a month ago.

Winning games will largely depend on getting Josh Sargent firing at a similar frequency to last season. The USA forward plundered 16 goals in just 28 games last season, with his game time managed due to the ankle injury sustained earlier on in the campaign.

Sargent's game and role in the side have evidently changed since the Thorup era began; he has been leading the line brilliantly and working incredibly hard for his team-mates, leading to the five assists he has contributed this season.

Last season's game plan often relied on our overlapping full-backs whipping balls into the box and some moments of brilliance, most often from the now-departed Gabriel Sara, and, when fit, Sargent was the beneficiary of this style.

More than a third of Sargent's goals last term were headers and he received five assists from the aforementioned Brazilian. Three were also provided by Jack Stacey, who is currently being kept out by the impressive Kellen Fisher. In fact, only Stacey and Borja Sainz of the players who assisted Sargent last season are in contention to start today’s game.

Shane Duffy Shane Duffy (Image: Matt Wilkinson/Focus Images Ltd)

It could be rather telling that under David Wagner we topped the headed goal charts with 16, and this season we haven’t scored a single header - even Shane Duffy is scoring classy goals rather than rising above an opposition defender with raw power.

In the short time that Thorup has been with the club, the work that the Dane has done with the players has been clear, and we’ve seen several cases of improvement and adaptation, which will likely be the case long term for Sargent.

The crisp nature of this Norwich City side is reflected in having the best shots-to-goal ratio in the division. We stand mid-table for shots on target but boast an impressive 0.43 goals per shot, meaning if Sargent’s positioning can be tweaked then paired with his impressive finishing, the goals will come.

You could argue that the captain's armband would suit Sargent today and perhaps add some confidence that could translate to goals.

Of course, it is Sainz who is taking centre stage currently. Some are questioning whether the Spaniard is better than Emi Buendia, which, based on not just current form but the quality of the goals, could be seen as a fair question.

While Sainz's two absolute bangers against Middlesborough on Sunday paved the way for the second-best comeback against that particular north-east opposition, you can’t help but feel great for George Long. If our deputy keeper hadn't foiled Tommy Conway, albeit a poor penalty, it wouldn’t have just been game over, but our season’s story could look completely different. Had Boro gone 4-1 up, we’d have been looking at two points from nine games; instead, we extended our unbeaten run to seven games.

Notwithstanding Cardiff’s form and the players that are ruled out today, I feel the fight we have shown across the last couple of games might just give us a chance of all three points.