Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Championship clash between Bristol City and Birmingham City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Aiming to record a third consecutive victory in the second tier, Bristol City welcome Birmingham City to Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon for a Championship battle.
The Robins managed an excellent comeback success over Southampton last time out, whilst Blues picked up a much-needed win at Preston North End.
Match preview
Since returning from October’s international break and a worrying four-game winless run (D2 L2), Bristol City have got their playoff ambitions back on track, enjoying two straight wins over strugglers Norwich City and recently-relegated Southampton over the past week.
It appeared as if the Robins were heading towards a fourth straight match at Ashton Gate without triumph on Tuesday night when Adam Armstrong expertly opened the scoring for the Saints, however goals from Scott Twine and Anis Mehmeti sealed a 3-1 success for the hosts.
Now on the hunt to secure three consecutive wins in the Championship for the first time since December 2023, Bristol City are currently occupying fourth spot in the second-tier standings ahead of Saturday’s hosting of Birmingham, five points behind Middlesbrough in second.
Unbeaten across five league away matches so far (W3 D2), Gerhard Struber’s side have struggled for consistency in the West Country, with the Robins winning two, drawing two and losing two of their opening six Championship contests at Ashton Gate to date.
Whilst main striker Emil Riis Jakobsen continues to settle into life at Bristol City, attacking midfielders Mehmeti and Twine are leading the club’s Golden Boot race with five Championship strikes each, meaning that Birmingham have plenty of players to keep tabs on this weekend.
After seeing their 29-game home league unbeaten run come to an end last Saturday afternoon at the hands of Hull City, pre-season promotion favourites Birmingham City picked up a vital three points on Tuesday night, when they produced a different type of performance in Lancashire.
Blues are known for their possession-based style under Chris Davies, but it was a backs-to-the-wall performance which ultimately led to maximum points at Preston, with summer arrival Phil Neumann heading home his first goal since a move from Hannover 96.
Keeping only their third clean sheet of the second-tier term last time out, the Second City club have moved up to 13th spot in the Championship table ahead of a trip to the West Country, just three points behind Stoke in the lowest of the playoff positions.
With Eiran Cashin and Jack Robinson failing to impress when given opportunities to stake their claim for the place alongside captain Christoph Klarer in central defence, Neumann stepped up when it mattered at Deepdale and should be a shoo-in to start once again this weekend.
Despite their well-documented struggles in the Championship over the past decade, Birmingham have a surprisingly good record at the home of Bristol City, with Blues winning five of their last six matches at Ashton Gate, including a 2-0 success in August 2023.
Bristol City Championship form: L D D L W W
Bristol City form (all competitions): L D D L W W
Birmingham City Championship form: W L D D L W
Birmingham City form (all competitions): W L D D L W
Team News
Bristol City remain without the services of centre-back Luke McNally, who is sidelined until the New Year because of a knee injury.
The Robins’ options at the back of the pitch are reduced further by the absence of Cameron Pring, with the 27-year-old recovering from an ankle problem.
For the second time this season, Birmingham were dealt an injury blow during the warm-up before a match on Tuesday, when Patrick Roberts pulled up with an issue.
As a result, the former Sunderland star is a doubt for the weekend, meaning that Lewis Koumas could earn another berth in the side.
After returning to the XI at Deepdale following injury, Bright Osayi-Samuel is now suspended for one match due to his collection of five yellow cards this term.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Vitek; Tanner, Dickie, Atkinson; Sykes, Randell, Vyner, Borges; Twine, Mehmeti, Armstrong
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Beadle; Iwata, Neumann, Klarer, Cochrane; Leonard, Paik, Koumas, Anderson, Gray; Stansfield
We say: Bristol City 1-1 Birmingham City
After the feel-good success over the Saints last time out, Bristol City will be expecting another three points at Ashton Gate this weekend.
Birmingham’s resolute display at Preston felt like a turning point, and Blues should be good enough to battle for a share of the spoils.
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