CHERRIES skipper Simon Francis has warned Cardiff City will be fearless when they arrive at Vitality Stadium on the Premier League’s opening day.

Cardiff earned the second automatic promotion spot from the Championship last season and Bluebirds boss Neil Warnock is well-known to Francis from their Sheffield United days.

The defender told Sky Sports News: "Anyone who has watched the Championship knows what Cardiff are capable of and what they are all about.

"Neil Warnock gets his teams going and did fantastically with them last season on a smaller budget than a lot of Championship teams.

"Cardiff will have a real fearlessness about them. They have nothing to prove going into the Premier League.

"We can’t underestimate them, that’s for sure."

In an interview with WalesOnline last week, Warnock claimed Cherries had beaten him to the signature of a mystery player.

He said: "Bournemouth have just bought a player we were looking at actually, but it was more than our budget is.

"Bournemouth have done it as you want to do. They have got into the Premier League and invested very cleverly.

“Eddie (Howe) has done a great job and they've gone from strength to strength. I'm looking forward to having a chat with him.”