It’s amazing just how much one game can change the feeling around a football club. Ahead of Saturday’s clash with Portsmouth, Bristol City fans were full of confidence. After it, they made their frustration incredibly clear both in the away end and on social media.
The supporters’ irritation was justified as the Robins produced their worst display of the season so far at Fratton Park as Liam Manning’s side were second best in every aspect of the game and were punished by John Mousinho’s side.
Fortunately, you never have to wait too long for a chance to bounce back in the Championship and City have a chance to win their supporters back over when they travel to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland this evening.
Manning is set to have the same squad to pick from that faced Pompey at the weekend with the Reds boss admitting it would be too early for the likes of Mark Sykes and Kal Naismith to return to the fold, while it is unclear whether or not Scott Twine will have recovered from the illness that ruled him out at Fratton Park.
Although some supporters will be hoping for a raft of changes following the miserable afternoon on the South Coast last time out, Manning very rarely tends to make major alterations to his squad so we think the Robins boss will just make a couple of personnel tweaks.
Here’s how we think City will set up at the Stadium of Light…
Goalkeeper and defence
While he could be criticised for his role in Portsmouth’s opener, Max O’Leary was one of the only City players to come away from Fratton Park with any credit as he produced several big stops to ensure the Reds only lost 3-0. The ‘keeper will always have his critics but he will certainly remain between the posts against Sunderland.
Ahead of him, our bet is that Manning will continue with the centre-back combination of Rob Dickie and Luke McNally. Yes, both players had one of their worst days in Bristol City colours against Pompey, but they have been reliable over the last few weeks and it would therefore be a surprise to see the Reds boss abandon the partnership from which he has built his side in recent months.
Zak Vyner similarly had a tough afternoon on the south coast, but the 27-year-old has established himself as one of the first names on Manning’s teamsheet this season and like both McNally and Dickie, will likely keep his place on the right side of defence.
At left-back, we think Haydon Roberts will be given the nod ahead of Cam Pring. The City head coach likes to rest and rotate his full-backs and with the quick turnaround between games and the fact that Pring struggled both in defence and attack against Portsmouth taken into account, it feels like Tuesday night would be the right time to make a change on the left side of the backline.
Midfield
So far this season, predicting who will start in midfield has been one of the easiest parts of the team because of the impressive form of Jason Knight, Max Bird and Marcus McGuane. After Saturday, it isn’t quite as straightforward.
Our bet is that City skipper Knight will keep his place despite his poor showing against Pompey. The Ireland international has played every minute of Championship football this season and while he was poor last time out, he has been excellent since he made the move to Ashton Gate so it would be an overexaggeration to drop him from the starting line-up.
Alongside him, we think Bird will move back into a slightly deeper role with McGuane dropping to the bench. That duo worked well together against Argyle and with McGuane only recently returning from injury, it would make sense if he wasn’t risked for two games in quick succession.
Attack
While the Robins’ attack didn’t fire at Fratton Park, it would be a surprise to see Manning make too many changes to the frontline that started against Mousinho’s side.
Bristol City Live on Whatsapp
Join Bristol City Live’s Whatsapp community for all the biggest Bristol City stories sent straight to your phone
Bristol City Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community.
Through the app, we’ll send the Bristol City news, live match coverage, team news, transfers, fixtures, analysis and more straight to your phone.
To join our community you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select ‘Join Community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Bristol Live team.
We also treat community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out at any time you like.
To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Anis Mehmeti will almost certainly start from the left wing. The Albanian international still carried a threat against Pompey even though he didn’t see too much of the ball and he has more than enough credit in the bank as a result of his performances earlier this season.
Opposite him on the right flank, we would expect Yu Hirakawa to keep his place. The Japanese international was one of Bristol City’s only positive performers at the weekend as he at least showed a bit of determination and invention, particularly in the second half as the Reds looked to find a way back into the game.
Between the two wide attacking midfielders, it feels as though the time has come for George Earthy to be given a start in his preferred position. The West Ham loanee was bright off of the bench against Argyle and had a few good touches against Portsmouth. With Twine likely to be missing again through injury, this may be his chance to show just what he can do when deployed as a genuine number 10.
Ahead of him, the expectation is that Nahki Wells will keep his place as the Robins’ solo striker. The 34-year-old only played an hour at Fratton Park so should have no issue starting again against Sunderland and appears to be Manning’s preferred choice to lead the line at this moment in time.
Sinclair Armstrong could get the nod instead, but the Ireland youth international hasn’t started a game since before the October international break so it would be a surprise if Manning decided tonight was the right time to change that.
Bristol City XI (4-2-3-1): Max O’Leary; Haydon Roberts, Luke McNally, Rob Dickie, Zak Vyner; Jason Knight, Max Bird; Anis Mehmeti, George Earthy, Yu Hirakawa; Nahki Wells