As we near the halfway point of the season, the Championship have proven to be as unpredictable as ever and few teams have summed that up more than Bristol City.
Having been played off of the park by Portsmouth last weekend, the Robins went toe-to-toe with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light and were just a matter of minutes away from claiming a huge three points against one of the division’s better teams.
City may have only won of their last five games, but there is a slight sense of positivity in and around Ashton Gate heading into this lunchtime’s clash with QPR. Although it won’t be straightforward, there is more than enough quality in Liam Manning’s side to claim all three points in the final home game before Christmas.
Manning will be boosted by the return of both Scott Twine and Ross McCrorie who are both in contention to start, but will be without Sinclair Armstrong with the former QPR forward set for a spell on the sidelines having been handed his first start in two months against the Black Cats last time out.
Although Manning will be reluctant to make too many changes to the team that impressed in the North East on Tuesday evening, the intense fixture schedule partnered with the need for a win could see him tweak things around just a little bit.
Here’s how we think City will start at Ashton Gate this afternoon…
Goalkeeper and defence
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest that Tuesday night’s draw was one of the Robins’ best defensive performances of the season as they dealt with everything Sunderland threw at them, other than Patrick Roberts’ late equaliser.
Because of that, we think Manning will stick with the same back three that impressed in the North East and also tore apart Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle last time out in BS3.
Max O’Leary will start between the posts having impressed against Portsmouth and Sunderland and ahead of him, Luke McNally, Rob Dickie and Zak Vyner will form a back three as that defensive set-up looked much more stable in the second half at the Stadium of Light than the back four did in the first half.
The bonus of having Vyner as one of the three centre-backs is the fact that Manning will be able to shift to a back four on the fly if he feels it’s necessary. The academy graduate’s versatility is a real asset and cannot be undervalued, particularly at this stage of the season with the games coming thick and fast.
Midfield
We’re lumping the wing-backs in with the midfielders in this predicted team, but for all intents and purposes, our bet is Cam Pring will keep his place on the left side and McCrorie will return to the fold on the opposite flank.
The Scotland international hasn’t played since he was replaced in the first half of the Robins ‘ draw with Leeds United at Ashton Gate, but prior to that knock, he was showing a level of consistency at left-back that had made him undroppable. If he’s ready to start, Manning would be naive to start someone out of position rather than start McCrorie.
Between the two wing-backs, it feels like two of Marcus McGuane, Jason Knight and Max Bird will start as the deeper pair in the middle of the park. We think Manning will stand by the partnership of McGuane and Knight that worked well together in the North East and take the chance to rest Bird. The former Derby man has been impressive on the whole since arriving at Ashton Gate, but his form has dipped slightly in recent weeks and having been replaced at half-time against the Black Cats it feels like this weekend would be a good chance to give him a much-needed rest.
There is every chance the 23-year-old could start in a more advanced role instead, but with Twine returning and George Earthy in good form, it would come as a bit of a surprise.
Attack and striker
While McNally found the net at the Stadium of Light, Bristol City’s attack hasn’t quite managed to find its rhythm since the win over Argyle at the end of November.
With that being said, it would be a surprise to see Manning stray too far away from the combinations that have served him well so far this season, especially with a few players still stuck on the treatment table at this moment in time.
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Anis Mehmeti will almost certainly keep his place as one of the two number 10s. The Albanian international wasn’t able to produce the moment of quality to find a winner on Tuesday evening, but he has been in excellent form so far this season and if fit, he will be one of the first names on the teamsheet.
In the other attacking midfield role, our bet is that Twine will be given the nod over Yu Hirakawa who will drop to the bench. The Japanese international struggled defensively against Regis Le Bris’ side and although he has shown he is a more than capable defender in other matches this term, it would be a surprise to see him start again having been substituted at half-time last time out.
While Twine is a bit of a divisive figure among supporters, he is Manning’s right-hand man and will almost certainly return to the XI with the only dilemma being who he replaces, now that he is shaken by the illness that ruled him out of the last two games. He showed what sort of difference he could make against Argyle before he was ruled out and if he is feeling up to a start, he will feature from the off.
At the top end of the pitch, the City boss’ decision has been made a lot easier following Armstrong’s injury. The Irishman may have led the line against his former club if he was fully fit but Nahki Wells will return to the fold in his absence.
Of course, there is a slim chance Fally Mayulu could feature from the off instead, but Manning’s comments in his pre-match press conference suggest that the 22-year-old is still a way away from starting week in and week out.
Bristol City XI (3-4-2-1): Max O’Leary, Luke McNally, Rob Dickie, Zak Vyner; Cam Pring, Jason Knight, Marcus McGuane, Ross McCrorie; Anis Mehmeti, Scott Twine; Nahki Wells