Looking to prevent their rivals from recording back-to-back wins, Bristol City will welcome Cardiff City to Ashton Gate on Sunday afternoon for another Championship edition of the Severnside derby.
The Robins were forced to share the spoils with Sheffield Wednesday earlier in the week, whilst the Bluebirds managed a rare win in South Wales against Millwall on Tuesday night.
Match preview
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Bristol City have won just one of their last six Championship fixtures after a frustrating night at Ashton Gate on Wednesday, when the West Country outfit were forced to share the points with strugglers Sheffield Wednesday, who held on resolutely to secure a goalless draw.
The referee's full-time whistle was met by boos from sections of the Robins fanbase last time out, with head coach Liam Manning believing that criticism from the stands was undeserved considering that City arguably did enough to win the contest in terms of effort and chances created.
Rather unsurprisingly, Bristol City are currently occupying 13th position in the Championship table after collecting a steady tally of 10 points from their opening eight second-tier battles, sitting five points behind Blackburn Rovers in sixth and three points ahead of 22nd-placed Queens Park Rangers.
With last campaign's leading marksman Tommy Conway securing a switch to division rivals Middlesbrough over the summer transfer window, the Robins moved decisively in the off-season market to recruit suitable reinforcements, with Sinclair Armstrong and Fally Mayulu netting two league goals each so far.
Despite grumbles of discontent from sections of their support, Bristol City have been solid at their Ashton Gate base during the opening weeks of the 2024-25 campaign, with Manning's men having the opportunity to extend their unbeaten run at the venue to five league games this weekend.
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At the eighth attempt, Cardiff City managed to earn their maiden win of the 2024-25 Championship campaign on Tuesday night, when the hosts at the Cardiff City Stadium fought hard to record a narrow one-goal success over Neil Harris's Millwall in front of a 15,000-strong crowd.
In a game devoid of much attacking quality, it was a moment from a set piece which allowed the Bluebirds to snatch maximum points, with a delightful ball from midfielder Joe Ralls falling onto the head of right-back Perry Ng, who netted his side's third league goal of the season.
Enjoying the taste of victory for the first time in the Championship this term earlier in the week, Cardiff have moved up to four points but remain rooted to the bottom of the second-tier standings, four points behind Preston North End in the relative safety of 21st.
Taking charge of the last two matches on an interim basis following the dismissal of Erol Bulut, former Shrewsbury Town player Omer Riza is relishing the opportunity of managing a Championship club and is confident in his abilities to take the job on a permanent basis.
The 44-year-old's hopes of securing a full-time position in South Wales could be significantly boosted by a Severnside derby success on Sunday afternoon, with the Bluebirds looking to extend their winning run against Bristol City to four Championship matches.
Team News
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Bristol City remain without the services of centre-back Rob Dickie, with the 28-year-old targeting a return from a hamstring injury after the October international break.
The Robins' options in defence are further restricted by the absence of Rob Atkinson, who has not featured so far this season due to a groin strain.
After keeping a clean sheet last time out, Manning should stick with a centre-back pairing of Luke McNally and Zak Vyner, with George Tanner operating at right-back.
Cardiff have a number of their key creators currently occupying beds in the medical room, including Wales legend Aaron Ramsey and Callum O'Dowda.
Kion Etete is yet to kick a competitive ball for the Bluebirds this season because of injury, meaning that Callum Robinson and Wilfried Kanga are holding down the fort up front.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O'Leary; Tanner, Vyner, McNally, Pring; Williams, Knight, Twine, Hirakawa, Mehmeti; Armstrong
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Alnwick; Ng, Chambers, Goutas, Bagan; Robertson, Ralls; Tanner, Colwill, El-Ghazi; Robinson
We say: Bristol City 2-1 Cardiff City
Following the disappointment of a draw against Sheffield Wednesday in midweek, Bristol City will be raring to earn three points against their Severnside foes on Sunday.
Cardiff's confidence has been raised by victory over Millwall on Tuesday, although we cannot envisage a shock win for the Bluebirds in the West Country.
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Carter White
