Here we go again. After two full days with no Bristol City action following Saturday afternoon’s draw with Hull City at Ashton Gate, the Robins are set to take to the field again. This time against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
Liam Manning’s side came from behind to draw 1-1 with the 10-man Tigers thanks to a second-half penalty from Anis Mehmeti. While the point ensured the Reds remained within touching points of the play-off places, the majority of supporters left Ashton Gate with a feeling of frustration as City were unable to make use of their one-man advantage. Fortunately, the chaos of the Championship means Manning’s side have a chance to put that right this evening.
On paper, the Robins come into this one as underdogs. Chris Wilder’s Blades have won all but one of their last seven outings in the second tier and come into Tuesday night’s game off the back of consecutive victories against QPR and Preston North End. That impressive run of form has seen United move level with table-toppers Leeds United, with only goal difference keeping Daniel Farke’s side ahead in the race for promotion.
Given the quick turnaround, Manning is set to have pretty much the same squad of players to pick from as he did against the Tigers, with one potential exception. Chris Hogg has confirmed City are “hopeful” that Nahki Wells will be fit and ready to return to the fold having missed the trip to Millwall and the draw with Ruben Selles’ side.
Hopefully, the Bermudian international will provide a welcome boost ahead of the Robins’ penultimate game before the March international break. A win at Bramall Lane could, again, be enough for Manning’s side to climb into the play-off places.
With all that in mind, here’s how we think City will line-up against Sheffield United in the Steel City this evening…
Goalkeeper and defence
Max O’Leary won’t have had many quieter afternoons between the Bristol City posts than against Hull City at the weekend. After Joao Pedro’s opener and red card, the City stopper had very little to do and on the rare occasions he was needed, he intervened well. He will almost certainly start his 37th Championship match of the campaign at Bramall Lane.
Ahead of him, it is hard to see Liam Manning straying too far away from the back three that started against the Tigers, partly because of their good form in recent weeks but primarily because there isn’t an awful lot of defensive depth to pick from at this moment in time.
Rob Dickie and Zak Vyner will both feel they perhaps could have and should have done more for Hull City’s opener on Saturday afternoon. However, since Luke McNally’s season was ended prematurely by an ACL injury, they have formed a solid partnership with Vyner in particular impressing on the left side of defence.
On Dickie’s right, our expectation is that George Tanner will continue as the right-sided centre-back. The former Manchester United man has been solid since taking on that role in the absence of Luke McNally, even if he doesn’t always offer an awful lot in possession. Against a Sheffield United side chasing promotion, his ability off of the ball is likely going to be a lot more important than his quality on it.
Midfield
Tonight’s trip to Bramall Lane is Bristol City’s third game in just eight days and with Norwich City set to visit Ashton Gate in just a couple of days time, Chris Hogg has admitted the Reds will need to carefully manage their players’ minutes in these next two matches.
As a result, our bet is that Haydon Roberts will replace Cam Pring at left-wing back. Pring has been typically impressive since returning from injury, but the fact that he repeatedly cramped up in the win over Millwall and played 60 minutes against Hull at the weekend would mean that it would be an unnecessary risk to make him start a third consecutive game in such a short space of time. City have decided to take that gamble with Ross McCrorie at Cardiff City and it ultimately backfired.
Roberts may not be every supporter’s cup of tea, however, he has been a regular starter whenever Pring has been unavailable this season and the former Brighton man will allow the Reds to roll into a back four as and when required.
On the opposite flank, we think Mark Sykes will keep his place. Although the Ireland international left the Ashton Gate turf without a goal or assist to his name against the Tigers, he was City’s best-attacking outlet on Saturday afternoon as he repeatedly got to the byline and threatened with some dangerous balls into the box. With McCrorie still a few weeks away from returning it is hard to see anyone other than Sykes starting on the right.
Between the two wing-backs, our bet is that Manning will stick with the midfield pairing of Jason Knight and Max Bird who have impressed in recent weeks. Neither player had their best game against Hull, but they did what they could to try and force a winner against an incredibly low block.
It wouldn’t be a total surprise if Joe Williams was recalled to add a bit more bite and if he does start, it will likely be in place of Bird. It is possible that all three midfielders could feature from the off, with Bird pushed into one of the two attacking midfield roles.
Attack and striker
Liam Manning has never been someone to make changes for the sake of changes and that has been evident throughout his time at Bristol City so far. As a result, we think he might stand by the attacking midfield duo that secured all three points in the Reds’ last away win against Millwall last week.
Regardless of who lines up alongside him, it is almost a certainty that Scott Twine will continue as one of the number 10s. The former Burnley man came the closest to finding that much-needed winner at the weekend and although he wasn’t able to find the net against his former side, he remains the main player in this squad who can create something out of nothing.
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Next to Twine, it feels like a toss-up between Anis Mehmeti and George Earthy. While Mehmeti did get on the scoresheet against Hull, he was fairly quiet over the course of the game as a whole. That partnered with the fact he hasn’t tended to have as much of an impact on the road as he has done at Ashton Gate this season, leads us to believe it will be Earthy who gets the nod. The West Ham loanee gives the Reds a bit more out of possession than his Albanian counterpart as well which could be important against the Blades.
Ahead of the two number 10s, our bet is that Sinclair Armstrong will lead the line for the sixth game in a row. Yes, the Ireland youth international should have scored against Hull at the weekend and needs to add more goals to his game, but against a strong Sheffield United squad, his skillset could be crucial.
On the face of it, the Robins aren’t likely to dominate possession against one of the Championship’s best sides. As a result, they need a forward at the top end of the pitch who can stretch the game and carry a threat on the counter-attack. Whatever your thoughts on Armstrong, the former QPR couldn’t be more fitting of that brief.
Hopefully, Nahki Wells will have managed to shake off the injury that has kept him out of the last two matches to offer an alternative option on the bench. With a quick turnaround before Friday evening’s clash with Norwich, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the two strikers split the workload against the Blades before reversing roles against the Canaries.
Bristol City XI (3-4-2-1): Max O’Leary; Zak Vyner, Rob Dickie, George Tanner; Haydon Roberts, Max Bird, Jason Knight; Mark Sykes; George Earthy, Scott Twine; Sinclair Armstrong