Bristol City‘s bid for promotion to the Premier League continues this weekend as they take on Hull City at Ashton Gate on Saturday.
The Robins are only outside the playoff zone on goal difference, and they moved up to seventh in the table with an impressive 2-0 win at Millwall on Tuesday evening.
Match preview
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That win at The Den extended Bristol City’s unbeaten run in the Championship to four matches, with Liam Manning‘s men seemingly hitting form at the right time.
With five of their final 11 matches of the season against teams currently in the top six in the Championship, the hosts must also take their recent form into their upcoming matches.
Manning’s side were the dark horses for promotion before the season began, and with the Robins currently in their 10th consecutive year in the Championship, they have established themselves in the second tier, but they have not been in the top division since 1980.
Last season they finished 10 points outside the playoff zone in 11th, but this time around they are knocking on the door for the playoffs and hoping to be let in during the coming weeks.
The hosts will be looking to continue their good form at home, as they have an excellent record at Ashton Gate this season, and with 32 points from their 17 home league fixtures this season, they have the sixth-best home record in the division.
The Robins have won seven of their last nine at home, and their nine wins in 17 home matches is their best record on their own patch since the 2014-15 campaign, when they won 16 out of their 23 home games.
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This weekend they come up against a Hull side that are better suited to playing on the road, having gained more points on their travels than on their home turf.
Since the turn of the year, the visitors have secured important, albeit surprising victories away from home against teams expected to beat them, including Millwall, as well as two sides currently chasing promotion in Sunderland and Sheffield United.
However, the Tigers did manage a home win in their most recent outing, with goals from Joe Gelhardt and Abu Kamara securing a vital three points in a 2-0 triumph against Plymouth Argyle in midweek.
That victory was another sign of the progress that Hull have made since Ruben Selles left Reading to take charge at the club back in December.
The visitors were 22nd in the Championship and had lost nine matches in a row when he took over from the outgoing Tim Walter in early December.
Since then, Hull have won six and drawn three of the 16 league matches that Selles has been in charge of, with the club picking up 21 of their 36 points this season under the Spaniard.
Although the visitors now have a five-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone, they will know that they still have plenty of work to do to ensure that they remain in the Championship next season.
They will look to spring another surprise this weekend against the high-flying Robins, and they can take a bit of confidence from their meeting with Manning’s men back in August, when the two sides shared the points.
Fally Mayulu opened the scoring with just over five minutes remaining, before Oscar Estupinan‘s 91st-minute penalty salvaged a point for Hull on the day.
However, the history books certainly favour the hosts in this one, as Hull have won only once in their last 26 away league matches against Bristol City, with the only exception being a 2-1 triumph back in October 2012.
Team News
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The hosts are expected to be without Ross McCrorie (hamstring), as well as long-term absentees Ayman Benarous (hamstring) and Luke McNally (ACL) for this clash.
Elsewhere, Josh Campbell-Slowey (calf) is expected to miss out again, while Cam Pring is now fully fit, having been eased back into action following a recent hamstring injury.
Meanwhile, the visitors have several injury concerns of their own, with Mohamed Belloumi, Eliot Matazo and Liam Millar all out for the foreseeable future with ACL injuries.
Harvey Cartwright (hand) remains out for Hull, but Matt Crooks is expected to return to the squad, having missed the win over Plymouth due to a facial injury.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O’Leary; Pring, Vyner, Dickie, Tanner; Bird, Knight, Sykes, Earthy; Twine, Armstrong
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Coyle, Jones, Hughes, McLoughlin; Puerta, Alzate, Kamara, Gelhardt, Joseph; Pedro
We say: Bristol City 2-1 Hull City
The hosts have an excellent record against Hull on their own patch, and with the Robins going strong, we think that they will edge this match.
The visitors have already demonstrated their ability to spring a surprise this season, so they are more than capable of getting a result, but we think that Bristol City will carry their momentum from their triumph against Millwall and get another important three points here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
