Bristol City predicted team vs Sheffield United as Struber eyes winning start at Bramall Lane

Gerhard Struber will be looking to start his Bristol City tenure with a win against Sheffield United this evening

Dan Carter is the Bristol City reporter at Bristol Live. He joined the title in November 2024 having previously been a football reporter at Breaking Media. Before that, he was a sports journalism student at the University of Gloucestershire where he also covered the Robins whilst on placement. In his role, he wants to keep supporters informed with the latest news in and around Ashton Gate whether that be on matchdays, during transfer windows or everything in between.

Gerhard Struber speaks to his Bristol City squad(Image: Rogan/ Bristol City)

Here we go again, then. 89 days after Bristol City’s play-off campaign came to an end at the hands of Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, the Robins once again head to the Steel City today, this time to start a season rather than end one.

For both sides, it has been a summer of change. Having replaced Liam Manning in the Ashton Gate hotseat over the off-season, Gerhard Struber is looking to get his tenure as City boss off to the perfect start against Ruben Selles’ new-look Blades.

The new Reds head coach has been boosted by a couple of clever additions during the summer transfer window. Adam Randell, Joe Lumley, Emil Riis, and Radek Vitek have all joined the ranks in BS3, with the only major departures seeing Nahki Wells end his five-and-a-half year association with the Robins and Marcus McGuane drop into League One with Huddersfield Town.

As was the case last term, the biggest issue currently facing City is injuries. Struber will be without longer-term absentees Max O’Leary, Cam Pring, and Luke McNally this evening, while the curtain-raiser is expected to have come too soon for midfielders Joe Williams and Max Bird to take to the field.

For most, United come into this one as favourites. While there is a sense of uncertainty of just what quite to expect from Selles and his side, given the fact that the Blades have undergone their own changes this summer, they are once again expected to challenge for the automatic promotion places this time around.

Still, there remains an undercurrent sense of optimism around the Robins. Without his side kicking a ball in a competitive game, Struber seems to have won over the majority of supporters; however, he will know that his first true test as City boss comes at Bramall Lane this evening.

With all of that in mind, here’s how we think Struber will set up his side against the Blades this evening…

Goalkeeper and defence

It feels only right that we preface this predicted team with a major caveat. We really don’t know exactly what Gerhard Struber has up his sleeve for a Championship game, and therefore, we’re basing our predictions primarily on what we saw during this summer’s friendlies and our interactions with the Bristol City boss.

With that out of the way nice and early, our expectation is that Radek Vitek will get the nod between the posts. Max O’Leary remains unavailable through injury, and while Joe Lumley could be handed a first competitive start in City colours, it appears as though Vitek has been brought to BS3 to start matches, as shown by the fact he was thrown straight into the fold against Real Valladolid.

Ahead of the Manchester United loanee, we think Struber will opt to deploy the back three that he has preferred throughout the course of pre-season. On the left, our bet is that Rob Atkinson, assuming he is fit and able to, will make his first competitive appearance for the Robins in more than two years after a strong summer and loan spell with Portsmouth last season.

Rob Atkinson hasn’t made a competitive appearance for Bristol City since 2023(Image: Photo by Rogan/Bristol City)

In the middle of the defensive trio, Zak Vyner is likely to pick up where he left off last season. With Rob Dickie continuing to serve his suspension, having been sent off in the first leg of last term’s play-off semi-final, the academy graduate feels like the natural fit to anchor the Reds’ backline.

As was the case in City’s final friendly, we think George Tanner will start as the right-sided centre-back. The 25-year-old played a lot of his football in a deeper role last year, and that has remained the case over the summer. Although Jamie Knight-Lebel could be thrown into the deep end in his place, we think the Canadian international will likely start on the bench.

Midfield

We’ll start with the two central midfielders. With Gerhard Struber confirming in his pre-match press conference that neither Joe Williams nor Max Bird are expected to be fit to feature at Bramall Lane, it would come as a surprise if the Robins’ pairing in the middle of the park wasn’t made up of Jason Knight and Adam Randell.

Knight was an ever-present throughout last season, and Struber has been open in his praise for the Reds’ captain in the build-up to the new campaign. Of course, his role may be slightly different under the Austrian than it was at times last term, but it seems as though he will be just as important.

Summer signing Randell has been deployed alongside him throughout City’s recent friendly fixtures and seems to have the skillset and ability to complement Knight both in and out of possession.

Adam Randell in action for Bristol City during pre-season(Image: Frankie OKeeffe/PPAUK)

With no Bird or Williams, it will likely be down to youngster Adam Murphy to offer midfield cover from the bench. The Irish youth international has been consistently involved throughout pre-season but hasn’t yet made his competitive debut for the Reds.

When it comes to wing-back, it feels a certainty that Ross McCrorie will start, but the questions are who with and on what flank? Our bet is that the Scotsman will be deployed in his more natural right-sided role, given that has been where he’s featured for so much of pre-season, with Mark Sykes given the nod on the opposite wing.

While it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Yu Hirakawa start on the left, with Struber feeling the Japanese international is comfortable in that position, against a strong Sheffield United side, the added defensive qualities Sykes offers could prove to be crucial.

Attack and striker

In his early interviews, Gerhard Struber has been quick to suggest that Bristol City won’t just utilise one formation throughout his tenure. For most fans, that adaptability has been welcomed… but it makes predicting a team that little bit harder.

We think the new head coach will continue to use two advanced 10s just behind a central striker as he did against both Real Valladolid and Plymouth Argyle. Furthermore, we think the two players in those positions will once again be Anis Mehmeti and Scott Twine.

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Albeit only in pre-season, Mehmeti has looked at home in Struber’s system and, on paper at least, the Albanian international has the qualities to be incredibly effective under the Austrian’s tutelage. For Twine, the summer has arguably been a bit more mixed, but the former Burnley man has shown in flashes just how effective he can be at this level.

If our prediction is correct, both Josh Stokes and Yu Hirakawa will be able to offer an almost like-for-like alternative off the bench if and when required. The intense style Struber is planning to implement will be physically demanding and therefore, rotating players both between and during games will be vital.

Of course, there is a chance that Struber may opt to start two number nines instead of two attacking midfielders. Regardless of the exact formation and system, we are confident that Emil Riis will be the man to lead the line.

In the former Preston North End forward, the Robins have signed a ready-made Championship forward capable of hitting the ground running in the second tier. Whether or not goals matter in pre-season is up for debate, but one thing that’s for sure is that scoring is a good habit for strikers to get into, and Riis has found that habit this summer.

We think the Dane will lead the line on his own this evening, with some combination of Sinclair Armstrong, Ephraim Yeboah, Fally Mayulu, Sam Bell, and Harry Cornick ready to offer an alternative from the bench.

Bristol City XI (3-4-2-1): Radek Vitek; Rob Atkinson, Zak Vyner, George Tanner; Mark Sykes, Jason Knight, Adam Randell, Ross McCrorie; Anis Mehmeti, Scott Twine; Emil Riis

Bristol City predicted team vs Sheffield United as Struber eyes winning start at Bramall Lane

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