Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Championship clash between Bristol City and Charlton Athletic, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Bristol City and Charlton Athletic will both be targeting back-to-back league wins when they face off at Ashton Gate on Saturday.
The Robins cruised to a 4-1 victory over Sheffield United on the first day of the season, while the Addicks claimed a narrow win over Watford in their season opener.
Match preview
Bristol City will be looking to secure another top-six placing this season after finishing in sixth position in the 2024-25 campaign.
The Robins went on to suffer a heavy defeat to Sheffield United in the playoff semi-finals before Liam Manning left his position as head coach to take over the reins at Norwich City.
Bristol City subsequently appointed Gerhard Struber, who has returned to English football for the first time since leaving Barnsley in 2020.
Struber could not have wished for a better start to his tenure, as his side eased to a 4-1 victory in Saturday’s away meeting with Sheffield United, courtesy of a Scott Twine brace and goals from Ross McCrorie and Anis Mehmeti.
The Robins enjoyed another successful outing in midweek, with Jason Knight and Yu Hirakawa grabbing a goal apiece in Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over MK Dons in the EFL Cup.
They will now be focusing on Saturday’s league fixture, where they will attempt to claim back-to-back home wins over Charlton for the first time since October 1975 after picking up a 2-1 victory in their most recent head-to-head home meeting in October 2019.
Charlton are competing in the second tier for the first time since 2019-20 after winning promotion via the League One playoffs last season.
Like Bristol City, the Addicks have kicked off the new campaign with back-to-back victories, including a narrow win in Saturday’s home clash with Watford.
The contest looked to be heading towards a goalless draw until Harvey Knibbs netted a dramatic 94th-minute winner on his Charlton debut.
Nathan Jones‘s side went on to record another home win in Tuesday’s EFL Cup clash, with Miles Leaburn, Ibrahim Fullah and Luke Berry all finding the net in a 3-1 first-round victory.
The Addicks will now turn their focus to their first competitive meeting with Bristol City since coming from 2-1 down to pick up a 3-2 home victory in December 2019.
Having taken just a point from their last two away encounters, the visitors are aiming to beat the Robins at Ashton Gate for the first time since November 2012/
Bristol City Championship form:
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Bristol City form (all competitions):
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Charlton Athletic Championship form:
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Team News
Bristol City are expected to be without Joe Williams, Cameron Pring, Luke McNally, Max Bird and Max O’Leary due to injury.
After making several changes in midweek, Struber could revert to the team that started Saturday’s dominant win over Sheffield United.
McCrorie will operate as the right wing-back despite recently being linked with a move to Serie A side Udinese.
As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon the injured duo of defender Reece Burke and forward Matty Godden.
After making his first Charlton start in midweek, summer signing Knibbs is in contention to feature in Saturday’s lineup.
Another summer addition, Charlie Kelman, is expected to lead the line for a second straight league game, with the former Leyton Orient striker looking to open his account for the Addicks.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Vitek; Tanner, Vyner, Atkinson; McCrorie, Knight, Randell, Hirakawa; Twine, Riis; Mehmeti
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Ramsay, Jones, Bell, Edwards; Coventry, Docherty; Apter, Knibbs, Carey; Kelman
We say: Bristol City 2-1 Charlton Athletic
Both teams will carry momentum into Saturday’s contest, but while we expect Saturday’s fixture to produce a close-fought contest, we think home advantage could help Bristol City condemn Charlton to their first defeat of the season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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