Today marks the return of the Severnside derby as Bristol City host bitter rivals Cardiff City at Ashton Gate. The Bluebirds make the short trip across the M4 as they lock horns with City for the first time this season, with the contest also being televised live on Sky Sports.
This afternoon’s fierce encounter comes just a week after the Robins also faced rivals Swansea City, with Liam Manning’s men coming away from South Wales with a point after a 1-1 draw at the Swansea.com Stadium.
After a midweek goalless stalemate against Sheffield Wednesday on home soil, City will be looking to return to continue their three-game unbeaten run in the Championship. And what better way to extend that spell than rivals Cardiff, who sat bottom of the standings ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.
The Bluebirds are currently managerless after sacking boss Erol Bulut a fortnight ago and have picked up just four points in their opening eight games of the campaign. Despite their torrid start to the season, interim manager Omer Riza has seen a change in fortunes in the Welsh capital as he guided his side to their first win of the season last time out – winning 1-0 against Millwall.
Ross McCrorie returned to the bench for the first time this term against Sheffield Wednesday following a hamstring issue picked up on the eve of the season, while George Earthy, who had missed three fixtures due to an ankle injury, has also been named in the 20-man squad for the previous two games.
With potential returns to the side for the duo along with our selection questions, here’s how we think City could line-up today.
Goalkeeper and defence
After a difficult afternoon against Swansea last weekend, Max O’Leary came under a bit of fire from some City fans, who believed Stefan Bajic should be given a Championship start since his arrival in the summer of 2023.
The Robins’ number one maintained his place in between the sticks on Wednesday evening and was relatively untroubled for large parts of the contest against Sheffield Wednesday. The goalless draw in midweek represented City’s first clean sheet of the campaign so far so will no doubt give confidence to O’Leary and the defence.
In the backline, George Tanner has started every game in both league and cup this term in place of the injured McCrorie. However, with the Scotland international now returning back from the sidelines, that will give Manning plenty to think about at right.
Despite appearing on the bench against the Owls on Wednesday, it remains whether it is too soon for McCrorie to start a game, especially given the magnitude of today’s opponents Cardiff.
In the heart of the defence, Zak Vyner really stepped up during a spell of Sheffield Wednesday second-half pressure and asserted his dominance both aerially and with the ball. Luke McNally also looked assured next to his centre-back partner and is growing in confidence following his summer switch from Burnley. The pair have lined up in City’s previous four league games.
At left-back, competition for a spot in the starting lineup really heated up after Haydon Roberts’ standout performance against Oxford United. After a tough outing against Swansea, the 22-year-old would be replaced in the side to face the Owls by Cam Pring.
The 26-year-old was rewarded with a return to the starting XI and Pring’s performance was both strong defensively and promising in attacking areas. The former Portsmouth defender will assume his role at left-back.
Midfield
There’s no doubting who the first name on the team sheet will be and that’s Jason Knight. The City captain has really led by example over the last two fixtures and notably scored the equaliser against Swansea seven-days-ago. Another strong performance in midweek would’ve only improved his confidence.
Meanwhile, Joe Williams was also handed a spot back in the starting XI after being dropped against the Swans and came into the midfield in place of Max Bird. Partnering Knight, the 27-year-old looked to link up play across the pitch and added fluidity into City’s attack.
It’s in the centre of the park which will cause Manning the biggest selection headache with Earthy also back in contention after making a place on the bench in the Robins’ last two games. It’ll be quite the conundrum for the City head coach, who also has Bird in his disposal after being dropped against Sheffield Wednesday.
In the three behind Sinclair Armstrong, Yu Hirakawa has started the previous two league games and completed a full 90 minutes for the first time since his summer arrival. The 23-year-old looked a danger for large spells against the Owls, but after missing the opening three games of the season through injury, Manning could side on the air of caution and rest the winger.
Anis Mehmeti has also started the Robins’ previous three league fixtures and could’ve had a handful of goals in the process. Most recently against Wednesday, the 23-year-old was denied by an excellent James Beadle stop to open the scoring in the first half.
It’ll be interesting to see what role Bird would play if the versatile midfielder comes back into the side either in a holding role for Williams or an attacking role behind the striker. If Mehmeti was dropped, it would see Scott Twine moving back out onto the left for the first time in two games. It’s a familiar role for the summer signing from Burnley who, despite playing more centrally in recent appearances, has been predominantly on the left-wing this term.
Strikers
Sinclair Armstrong was really limited with opportunities against Sheffield Wednesday after an intriguing 50/50 battle with centre-back Di’Shon Bernard. It was a hard-fought contest between the pair which Manning described as the 21-year-old’s best match-up following his summer switch from QPR.
Although Nahki Wells came on from the bench, the experienced front man was unable to break down the resilient Owls defence after being given the nod over Fally Mayulu to replace Armstrong.
Armstrong, though, is Manning’s preferred option to lead the line and will be key to breaking down Cardiff’s defence which have already conceded 19 goals in the opening eight games of the season so far.
Bristol City predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Max O’Leary; George Tanner, Zak Vyner, Luke McNally, Cam Pring; Jason Knight, Joe Williams, Yu Hirakawa, Max Bird, Scott Twine; Sinclair Armstrong.