Managerless Bristol City will be looking to put an end to their six-match losing run in all competitions when they welcome Barnsley to Ashton Gate in Saturday's Championship clash.

The Robins lost 2-0 to Reading in midweek and enter this game three points behind Barnsley, who have won back-to-back matches.

Match preview

Bristol City manager Dean Holden pictured on January 10, 2021 © Reuters

Tuesday's defeat against Reading proved to be the final straw as City parted company with boss Dean Holden after just six months in charge.

Not only have City lost six games in a row, five of those in the league, they have conceded 15 and scored only twice. Indeed, the Robins have failed to find the net in each of their last four games.

The search for a new manager is now under way, with Michael Appleton and Paul Cook considered the favourites to take over.

Assistant managers Paul Simpson and Keith Downing will step up to manage Saturday's showdown with Barnsley, which looks like being another tough test for City on recent form.

Barnsley manager Valerien Ismael pictured on February 11, 2021 © Reuters

Barnsley followed up their impressive win against Brentford - ending the Bees' 22-match unbeaten league run in the process - with a 2-1 win against Blackburn Rovers in midweek.

Carlton Morris scored his second goal in as many games to put Barnsley ahead and Alex Mowatt added a second, before Adam Armstrong pulled back a consolation right at the death.

The Tykes are now unbeaten in four league games, having previously drawn 2-2 with Cardiff City and 0-0 with Nottingham Forest.

In fact, since Valerien Ismael first took charge in October, only Norwich City (14), Brentford (13) and Swansea City (13) have won more Championship games than Barnsley (12).

However, Ismael's men are winless in 10 league meetings with Bristol City in a run stretching back to September 2012, six of those matches finishing all square.

Bristol City Championship form: WLLLLL
Bristol City form (all competitions): LLLLLL

Barnsley Championship form: LLDDWW
Barnsley form (all competitions): WDDLWW

Team News

Barnsley's Cauley Woodrow celebrates scoring in October 2020 © Reuters

City remain without a number of players for Saturday's match, with Andreas Weimann, Chris Martin, Alfie Mawson, Callum O'Dowda, Jay Dasilva and Joe Williams nursing injuries.

Adam Nagy and Adrian Mariappa were recalled to the side for the loss to Reading, and interim pair Simpson and Downing will no doubt want to put their own spin on things.

As for the visitors, Ben Williams, Liam Kitching and Aapo Halme are among their absentees for this game at Ashton Gate.

Cauley Woodrow was preferred to Morris against Blackburn, but the latter scored again from the bench and is surely in Ismael's thoughts for a starting spot.

Meanwhile, midfielder Mowatt has been involved in six goals in his last 10 Championship matches - three goals and three assists.

Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Mariappa, Kalas, Moore; Semenyo, Palmer, Lansbury, Nagy, Hunt; Wells, Diedhiou

Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Collins; Sibbick, Helik, Andersen; Brittain, Palmer, Mowatt, Styles; Chaplin, Adeboyejo; Morris

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We say: Bristol City 0-1 Barnsley

Not since between December 2016 and January 2017 have Bristol City lost six league games in a row.

Against a Barnsley side back in form, and with a new manager not expected to be in place until after this match, we can see their losing streak continuing for a little while longer.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a draw or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Barnsley win with a probability of 44.84%. A win for Bristol City had a probability of 28.11% and a draw had a probability of 27.1%.

The most likely scoreline for a Barnsley win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.35%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.81%) and 0-2 (8.53%). The likeliest Bristol City win was 1-0 (9.25%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.76%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 12.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Barnsley in this match.