Looking to build on a respectable draw on the road earlier in the week, Bristol City will welcome Queens Park Rangers to Ashton Gate for a Championship battle on Saturday afternoon.
The Robins were denied maximum points by a last-gasp Sunderland equaliser in the North-East on Tuesday, one day before the R's enjoyed a routine home success over relegation rivals Oxford United.
Match preview
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Since the beginning of the festive schedule, Bristol City have continued to struggle with an inconsistency that threatens to put to bed any hopes of competing for a top-six spot, with Saturday's hosts suffering a 3-0 defeat at basement dwellers Portsmouth before earning a valuable point against promotion-chasing Sunderland on Tuesday night.
It was a backs-to-the-wall performance for the Robins last time out at the Stadium of Light, where the visitors were moments away from recording their seventh Championship success of the campaign courtesy of Luke McNally's opener, but Patrick Roberts struck for the Black Cats in the 93rd minute to level the contest.
With just the single victory across their last five second-tier clashes, Bristol City are currently languishing in 11th spot in the Championship table, six points behind sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion and a comforting nine points ahead of Cardiff City in the highest of the relegation spots.
Following the departure of last season's leading marksman Tommy Conway to Championship rivals Middlesbrough, left-winger Anis Mehmeti has stepped up to the goalscoring plate for Liam Manning's troops so far in 2024-25, bagging six strikes and providing one assist in 19 second-tier appearances.
Those of a Bristol City persuasion are unlikely to be extremely confident of maximum points on the weekend considering that their side have won only one of their last six Championship home matches, although that victory did arrive last time out at Ashton Gate on November 30, when Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle were smashed 4-0.
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After enduring a nine-game winless spell in front of their home faithful across the opening months of the 2024-25 season, Queens Park Rangers have enjoyed back-to-back successes at their Loftus Road base in less than a week, easing past the attentions of both Norwich City and newly-promoted Oxford.
That being said, it has not been all smooth sailing for the R's, who were booed off by some sections of the crowd at half time on Wednesday night after a lacklustre opening period, but a much-improved second-half display resulted in three points, with midfielder Sam Field netting a brace.
In the midst of a five-game unbeaten streak - during which they have conceded just the single goal - QPR are currently occupying 19th spot in the Championship standings ahead of this weekend's trip to the West Country, four points ahead of Omer Riza's Cardiff in 22nd place.
Due to their defensive solidity over recent weeks, many of the plaudits are being directed towards centre-back pairing Liam Morrison and Steve Cook, with the former showcasing why he was on the books of Bayern Munich before moving to Loftus Road during the latest summer window.
Ashton Gate has proved to be a happy hunting ground for QPR since the turn of the decade, with the capital club looking to extend their winning run at the venue to five Championship matches on Saturday afternoon, with Bristol City last earning victory in this exact fixture back in August 2019.
Team News
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Bristol City have endured a great deal of injury woes this season, but some of that is set to decrease as the festive period continues, with the likes of Scott Twine (illness), Mark Sykes (hamstring) and George Tanner (knee) approaching match fitness.
The Robins are set to wait a little longer for the services of 28-year-old Joe Williams, who suffered an Achilles tendon injury back in November.
Manning made some vital alterations to his side's set-up at the Stadium of Light during the half-time interval, with Max Bird and Yu Hirakawa managing just 45 minutes of action.
QPR were boosted by the return of influential attacker Ilias Chair on Wednesday night, when the Moroccan made a six-minute cameo following a month out with a knee issue.
The R's are still unable to call upon the services of a host of attacking threats, including Zan Celar (hamstring), leading goalscorer Michael Frey (calf) and Karamoko Dembele.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O'Leary; Vyner, Dickie, McNally, Pring; McGuane, Knight, Bell, Earthy, Mehmeti; Wells
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Dunne, Cook, Morrison, Ashby; Varane, Field, Smyth, Madsen, Saito; Kolli
We say: Bristol City 1-1 Queens Park Rangers
With a habit of struggling against the poorer sides in the Championship, Bristol City will need to break out of their worrying ways to earn maximum points this weekend.
QPR have found a much-needed defensive stubbornness over recent weeks and should be able to keep the score down to record a point in the West Country.
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Carter White
