Bristol Live’s predicted Bristol City team to face Millwall at The Den as Gerhard Struber’s Robins aim for a third successive league winBristol City boss Gerhard Struber applauds the travelling Robins support(Image: EFL)

Here we go again. Just three days on from a Boxing Day to remember at The Hawthorns, Bristol City are on the road again this evening as they make the trip to South East London, where they will be taking on Millwall at The Den.

The Robins have finally managed to get the points their recent performances have deserved with back-to-back wins on either side of Christmas Day. Having come out on top against Middlesbrough at Ashton Gate a little over a week ago, Gerhard Struber’s side moved back into the play-off places with a win over West Brom on Friday afternoon.

In what was a hard-fought contest in the Midlands, Anis Mehmeti’s seventh goal of the campaign and Ross McCrorie’s strike in the first half proved to be enough to ensure that Ousmane Diakite’s late header was little more than a consolation as City beat the Baggies 2-1.

For this evening’s opponents, however, Boxing Day was a little more low-key. Millwall saw the Robins leapfrog them into the top six as they played out a 0-0 draw with Ipswich Town at The Den, with neither side quite able to break the deadlock.

OPINION

OPINION

The point gained against the Tractor Boys means that goal difference alone separates the seventh-placed Lions and the sixth-placed Reds. Should City stretch Alex Neil’s side’s winless run to five matches, they will begin to put a gap between themselves and the chasing pack in the race for the play-off places.

Given how the previous meeting between these two sides went, Struber’s boys won’t be expecting this one to be straightforward. To make matters slightly more complicated, the Robins remain without the suspended Harry Cornick, and now Fally Mayulu, who has joined Radek Vitek on the treatment table heading into the new year.

With this, the second in a run of four games in just 10 days, rotation could well loom. How and where? We’ll find out this evening, but until then, here’s how we think City will set up against Millwall at The Den…

Goalkeeper and defence

While he wasn’t quite able to claim what would have been a well-deserved clean sheet in Bristol City’s win over West Brom on Boxing Day, Max O’Leary was solid between the posts at The Hawthorns, particularly in the first half, where he pulled off two smart saves in quick succession after Anis Mehmeti’s opener.

With Radek Vitek on the sidelines until February at least, it is clear that the Ireland international is once again the recognised number one heading into the new year. Assuming he is fighting fit, and we have no reason to suggest otherwise, he’ll likely keep his place at The Den with Joe Lumley taking his place on the bench.

Ahead of O’Leary, our expectation is that Gerhard Struber will stand by the three-at-the-back formation deployed both against the Baggies and for much of the season so far. Though we imagine the system will remain the same, our bet is that the personnel within it may be rotated slightly.

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Zak Vyner and Rob Dickie will almost certainly continue as the right and central members of the backline, respectively, but our prediction is that Rob Atkinson will make his first start since November as the left-sided centre-back, replacing Cam Pring.

On form alone, Pring is more than worthy of keeping his place in the starting line-up, but with the quick turnaround and the fact that the 27-year-old has only recently recovered from injury in mind, we think Struber will take the opportunity to give the academy graduate a rest.

The greater physical presence Atkinson offers could also be very helpful against Millwall. It was noticeable that West Brom aimed to target the Reds from set-pieces on Boxing Day, and, on paper at least, having the 27-year-old on the pitch will make the Robins more competitive in the air.

Midfield

For much of the first quarter of the Championship campaign, Bristol City utilised an incredibly consistent midfield pairing of Adam Randell and Jason Knight. In fact, such a partnership was only split up when the latter sustained a groin injury against Preston North End in September.

Since Knight returned to the fold, however, the Reds’ central duo have impressed with the Ireland international looking back to his best against Boro and West Brom. With Max Bird and Joe Williams still sidelined, Sam Morsy not yet officially a City player and youngster Jed Meerholz the only fit alternative, our expectation is that Randell and Knight will again feature from the off at The Den.

Bristol City’s Adam Randell battles with Coventry City’s Tatsuhiro Sakamoto (Image: EFL)

At wing-back, Gerhard Struber has perhaps more options than he does anywhere else on the field. All of Cam Pring, Neto Borges, Ross McCrorie, Haydon Roberts and Elijah Morrison are currently fit and available, with Mark Sykes the only notable current absentee in the wide areas.

The Ireland international’s absence means that it is hard to look beyond McCrorie for the starting role on the right flank. The Scotsman was superb at The Hawthorns on Boxing Day, and although his strike against the Baggies was his first since his opening day goal against Sheffield United, he has shown signs of getting back to his best in the lead-up to the festive period.

On the other wing, it feels like it is currently a toss-up between Pring and Borges. Because of the same logic deployed in the defensive section of this prediction, we think it will likely be the Brazilian who gets the nod this evening.

Borges only played 65 minutes on Friday, while Pring played a full game for the first time since April. It seems an unnecessary risk to start him again in such quick succession, particularly when the Robins have another game against Portsmouth in three days.

Attack and striker

Over the last month or so, Gerhard Struber has deployed front threes comprised of one attacking midfielder and two strikers, or made up of two 10s and one, sole centre-forward. After Boxing Day, we expect the Bristol City boss to opt for the latter once again.

Our bet is that it will once again be Scott Twine and Anis Mehmeti who make up the attacking unit just behind the striker. The pair were both excellent again at The Hawthorns, and at their best, they are capable of deciding the outcome of matches with their creativity and cutting edge in the final third.

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That would mean that it would once again be down to Yu Hirakawa, Josh Stokes and likely youngster Leo Pecover to offer an attacking midfield alternative from the bench.

Ahead of the two 10s, we expect Emil Riis to lead the line on his own once more. The Dane was solid, if unremarkable, against West Brom, but he was noticeably able to link play better than Sinclair Armstrong could against Albion. It still feels as though when Struber starts a sole centre-forward, it will be Riis who gets the nod ahead of his Irish counterpart.

Armstrong will almost certainly have a role to play from the bench, especially with the games coming thick and fast. With Fally Mayulu injured and Harry Cornick suspended, we would expect it to again be one of Olly Thomas or Ephraim Yeboah who joins him amongst the substitutes.

Bristol City predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Max O’Leary; Zak Vyner, Rob Dickie, Rob Atkinson; Ross McCrorie, Adam Randell, Jason Knight, Neto Borges; Scott Twine, Anis Mehmeti; Emil Riis

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