Gerhard Struber and Bristol City welcome Ipswich Town to Ashton Gate, but could be without their captain Jason Knight

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.

Bristol City and Gerhard Struber sit fourth in the Championship currently(Image: Photo by Rich Linley – CameraSport via Getty Images)

For the first time in the Championship, under the management of Gerhard Struber, Bristol City are in action under the Ashton Gate lights this evening as they welcome Ipswich Town and Kieran McKenna to south Bristol.

Tonight will be the first time BS3 has played host to a regular evening league game since the visit of West Brom all the way back in April, when a stoppage-time winner from Haydon Roberts put a gap between the Reds and their play-off rivals on the Robins’ way to the top six.

Given the stage of the season, the stakes aren’t quite as high this time around, however, City will still be eager to claim maximum points and a first win in three matches. Although Struber’s side produced a much-improved display to draw with Preston North End last time out, a couple of missed chances sparked debate over whether it was a case of one point won or two dropped.

Still, after seven games, the Reds find themselves fourth in the Championship, five points adrift of leaders Middlesbrough but three clear of tonight’s opponents, 12th placed Ipswich. After a mixed start following relegation from the Premier League, the Tractor Boys travel to Ashton Gate off the back of back-to-back wins over Sheffield United and Portsmouth.

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Most expect McKenna’s side to be there or thereabouts in the race for promotion this term, and on paper, they should provide the Robins with one of their biggest challenges yet.

As has been the case throughout much of the campaign so far, Struber’s side will need to navigate this test without long-term absentees Joe Williams, Cam Pring, Luke McNally, Josh Stokes, and now also Max Bird. Whether or not captain Jason Knight is available will depend on the results of a scan the midfielder undertook after being forced off late on at Deepdale on Saturday.

Naturally, the absentees mentioned above have left City short of options in a couple of areas, and with the quick turnaround between matches this week, the Reds head coach has some big decisions to make.

With that all in mind, here is how we think Struber will set up City against Ipswich Town this evening…

Goalkeeper and defence

Saturday’s trip to Deepdale saw Radek Vitek keep his third clean sheet in Bristol City colours. In truth, the Manchester United loanee didn’t have an awful lot to do between the posts as the Robins did well to keep Preston North End’s attackers at bay for much of the contest, but when he was called upon, he produced a couple of really smart saves.

His double effort midway through the first half was impressive, and after the break, he commanded his area well whenever the home side swung crosses into the Reds’ box. Given his form so far this term, and the fact that Max O’Leary played a full 90 minutes for City’s Under-21s on Monday afternoon, we’re confident in suggesting Vitek will keep his place against Ipswich.

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Ahead of the 21-year-old stopper, however, we’re expecting a bit of a reshuffle. For reasons that will become clear later in this predicted team, we think George Tanner will be handed his first Championship start since the opening day of the season and slot into the Robins’ back three alongside the ‘Big Robs’: Dickie and Atkinson.

City’s back three was superb in Lancashire at the weekend, and as a result, Gerhard Struber will likely be keen to maintain some continuity against the Tractor Boys. The Reds boss hinted that Atkinson would be able to play back-to-back games in his pre-match press conference last week, while Dickie did exactly that for the majority of last season.

With Zak Vyner’s services potentially required elsewhere, the opening weeks of the term have shown that Tanner is the next cab off the defensive rank – in Struber’s thoughts at least. What the 25-year-old lacks as a physical presence, he makes up for as a one-on-one defender, something which could prove crucial when it comes to keeping Jaden Philogene-Bidace quiet.

Midfield

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way straight away. It would come as a surprise to us if Bristol City captain Jason Knight was ready to feature this evening with just two days to recover from the groin injury that forced him off against Preston on Saturday afternoon.

Now we do hope we are left surprised when 6:30pm rolls around and the Robins publish their team to take on Ipswich, but we are going to predict this team on the assumption that Knight misses out on a Championship matchday squad for the first time in his City career.

With both Joe Williams and Max Bird also sidelined, it seems a certainty that someone who isn’t a natural midfielder will need to partner Adam Randell in the middle of the park. Our bet is that Zak Vyner will be that man.

Zak Vyner has been a regular starter for Bristol City under Gerhard Struber(Image: EFL)

The 27-year-old was the player to move alongside Randell during the closing exchanges at Deepdale – despite the fact Scott Twine, Ross McCrorie, and Mark Sykes were all on the pitch – and therefore, we think he will be Gerhard Struber’s preferred option to start in such a role.

Vyner has played in central midfield before for the Reds, primarily under Dean Holden, and while it isn’t his best position, his head coach seems to be confident in his ability to perform next to Randell. We may well be miles wide of the mark, but we think he’s the most likely to start should Knight be ruled out.

In Struber’s high-pressing, direct system, few players get through as much work as the wing-backs. Given the quick turnaround from Saturday to this evening’s game and this weekend’s clash with QPR, it feels like the Robins boss will have to rotate his wide defenders to keep things fresh.

Even with that in mind, though, we think Ross McCrorie will retain his place. In all honesty, the Scotsman feels too important to Struber’s style – both in and out of possession – to be left out. Our bet is, however, that he will return to the right, flank where he should, in theory at least, be able to help George Tanner deal with the threat carried by Jaden Philogene-Bidace and Leif Davis.

On the left, we think Mark Sykes will get a rare rest, meaning it will likely be one of Yu Hirakawa or Neto Borges who starts. This time, we’re going to go with Hirakawa with the hope that the Japan international can offer a more attacking threat in what will be a slightly more defensive side should Vyner start in midfield.

It wouldn’t be a total surprise if Elijah Morrison was on the Reds’ bench to offer an alternative as well after he wasn’t involved in the Under-21s’ defeat to Charlton Athletic on Monday.

Attack and striker

Up until this point, predicting how Bristol City will line up this evening has been rather tricky. While that difficulty could easily extend to the front three if Gerhard Struber opts to push Scott Twine into a deeper position as the Reds’ second central midfielder, we think the Robins boss will stand by the attacking trio that has served him well so far.

Our expectation is that Twine and Mehmeti will again continue as the Reds’ two wide attackers. While neither player had quite their best game – for differing reasons – at Deepdale, they continued to carry a threat and have shown over the course of the opening month and a half of the season that they can be lethal when they’re in their groove.

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Had Mehmeti converted either of his two second-half chances against North End, he would have likely been City’s man of the match. It would be an overreaction, and one that we don’t expect Struber to have, to drop him off the back of one poor miss – especially when there aren’t a wealth of alternatives waiting in the wings.

Similarly, it would come as a surprise if anyone but Emil Riis led the line. Yes, the Dane didn’t quite have the desired impact against his former side at the weekend or in the defeat to Oxford United last time out at Ashton Gate, but he remains the best and most effective striker at the Reds’ disposal.

As has been the case since the closure of the summer transfer window, it will likely be down to the likes of Sinclair Armstrong, Fally Mayulu, and Harry Cornick to offer an alternative option from the bench.

Bristol City predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Radek Vitek; George Tanner, Rob Dickie, Rob Atkinson; Ross McCrorie, Adam Randell, Zak Vyner, Yu Hirakawa; Scott Twine, Anis Mehmeti; Emil Riis

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