Looking to land a major punch in the playoff fight, Bristol City will host West Bromwich Albion at Ashton Gate on Tuesday night in the Championship.
The Robins have propelled into the top six following a home success over Watford on the weekend, whereas the Baggies are beginning to falter in their quest for a place in the post-season picture.
Match preview
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After an 11th place finish in the Championship last season - ending up 11 points behind Norwich City in the lowest of the playoff places - Bristol City are having a real go at making the coveted top six this time around, with Tuesday night's hosts breaching the upper echelons of the division on the weekend.
Fellow top-six hopefuls Watford were the visitors to Ashton Gate and were put in their place inside the opening 30 minutes, when strikes from Ross McCrorie and Bermudan veteran Nahki Wells secured maximum points for the Robins before the Hornets bagged a consolation late on.
Only losing to league-leading Burnley across the last nine second-tier battles, Bristol City have moved from mid-table obscurity into sixth position in the Championship standings, one point above Coventry City in seventh and three points ahead of Tuesday's visitors West Brom.
Liam Manning's troops are currently enjoying a five-match unbeaten streak at their West Country base and have collected an admirable tally of 39 points from 20 Ashton Gate occasions so far, with only the top quartet of the division boasting better home records at this stage of the campaign.
With youngster Tommy Conway departing for Middlesbrough at the beginning of the season, former Wycombe Wanderers playmaker Anis Mehmeti has stepped up to the goalscoring plate during 2024-25 for Bristol City, bagging 12 goals in what has been the Albanian's best-ever attacking term.
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With former head coach Carlos Corberan working wonders in sunny Valencia, Tony Mowbray's West Brom are currently slugging through the final part of their 2024-25 campaign, one which presents the club with the opportunity to avoid a fifth straight campaign outside of the Premier League.
Despite a number of shrewd January signings and plenty of notable attackers, the Baggies are passing up the chance to earn a top-six finish at this moment, with Tuesday's visitors to the West Country struggling to regularly find the net against fellow Premier League hopefuls.
That saddening theme continued at The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon - when despite racking up 21 shots against Sunderland - it was another case of a disappointing result as a suspect Trai Hume first-half free kick secured all three points for the youthful Black Cats.
Winning just one of their last six matches in the second tier, the Baggies have unsurprisingly dropped out of the playoff places and currently occupy eighth position, three points behind both Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough and Tuesday's opponents Bristol City in fifth and sixth respectively.
West Brom are struggling without the presence of their leading goalscorer Josh Maja in attack, although a number of available players are not reaching their usual heights such as Tom Fellows, who has registered just a single assist in 2025 after providing 10 during the first half of the term.
Team News
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Bristol City are without the services of right-back George Tanner, who is expected back in late July from an issue sustained in the middle of March.
Joining the defender in the Robins medical room, Luke McNally suffered a season-ending knee injury in February and will not feature again until October.
West Brom are unable to call upon the services of Jed Wallace and Semi Ajayi, with the pair battling against calf and hamstring issues respectively.
With Maja on the treatment table and Adam Armstrong failing to set the world alight, there is argument for Daryl Dike to earn his first start in over a year.
There could be further attacking alterations on the mind of Mowbray, including the possibility of bringing Fellows, Tammer Bany and Will Lankshear into the XI.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O'Leary; Vyner, Dickie, Pring; Sykes, Knight, Williams, McCrorie; Earthy, Bird, Wells
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Wildsmith; Furlong, Bartley, Heggem, Styles; Fellows, Molumby, Diakite, Johnston; Armstrong, Dike
We say: Bristol City 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
After taking control of their own destiny in the top-six race on the weekend, Bristol City will be desperate to avoid handing West Brom three points on Tuesday night.
That being said, we are expecting a cagey affair between the pair, two teams who would reluctantly shake hands on a share of the spoils at Ashton Gate.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
