Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Championship clash between Bristol City and Hull City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Bristol City will attempt to maintain their unbeaten start to the Championship season when they play host to Hull City on Saturday.
The Robins enter the weekend in ninth position, while the Tigers are one point adrift in 15th place in the Championship standings.
Match preview
Gerhard Struber will be satisfied with the start he has made to his tenure, having overseen two wins, two draws and one defeat in five competitive matches.
The Robins kicked off the campaign with consecutive victories against Sheffield United and MK Dons in the league and EFL Cup respectively, before their team played out two draws in their next two Championship outings against Bristol City and Derby County.
Unfortunately for Bristol City, they suffered their first defeat of the season in Wednesday’s EFL Cup clash against Fulham, conceding two goals without reply in their second-round meeting at Craven Cottage.
The Robins will now turn their focus back to league action, with Struber’s side one of seven teams yet to lose in the Championship this term.
They are now looking to start a league campaign with a four-game unbeaten run for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
The hosts will surely fancy their chances of avoiding defeat, having lost just one of their previous 27 home league matches against Hull (D7, L19).
Sergej Jakirovic has experienced a mixed start to his time as Hull boss, having taken four points from his first three Championship matches.
Jakirovic kicked off his tenure with a goalless draw with Coventry, before his team fell to a penalty shootout defeat in their EFL Cup first-round clash against Wrexham.
It ultimately proved to be third time lucky for Jakirovic, who picked up his first win as Hull boss with a dramatic 3-2 victory against Oxford United.
However, Hull were unable to build upon that result in their most recent outing, as they slumped to a heavy 3-0 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers.
Hull’s hopes of bouncing back with a win will be tempered by the fact that they have won just one of their last eight away league matches (D4, L3).
They have also failed to win their last five matches against Bristol City since they clinched a 2-1 home win in July 2022, while their most recent head-to-head away victory took place in the EFL Cup in October 2016.
Bristol City Championship form:
W D D
Bristol City form (all competitions):
W W D D L
Hull City Championship form:
D W L
Hull City form (all competitions):
D L W L
Team News
Bristol City remain without the injured quartet of Luke McNally, Cam Pring, Max O’Leary and Joe Williams.
The Robins will have to assess 21-year-old attacker Josh Stokes, who was forced off in the early stages of Wednesday’s EFL Cup defeat.
After making several changes in midweek, Struber could revert back to the side that started last Friday’s draw with Derby.
Hull are having to cope with a lengthy absentee list, which includes Semi Ajayi, Lewie Coyle, Liam Miller, Eliot Matazo and Nathan Tinsdale.
Matt Crooks is unlikely to feature after missing the defeat to Blackburn with an ankle injury, while it remains to be seen whether Enis Destan will be fit for Saturday’s contest.
Charlie Hughes and Akin Famewo could return to the side after sitting out last Saturday’s match due to illness.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Vitek; Dickie, Vyner, Atkinson; Sykes, Knight, Randell, McCrorie; Twine, Mehmeti; Riis
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Drameh, Egan, Hughes, Giles; Slater, Lundstram; Gelhardt, Palmer, Ndala; McBurnie
We say: Bristol City 2-1 Hull City
Bristol City have won five of their previous six home matches against Hull, and with that in mind, we think they will make full use of home advantage again to claim a narrow victory in Saturday’s contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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