Bristol City will be flying high as we head into the first international break of the 2020/21 campaign, with Dean Holden's men sitting top of the Championship.

It has not always been pretty and there have been times when the Robins have been forced to batten down the hatches but four wins from four league games looks a dream start to Holden's tenure as permanent boss.

The 41-year-old's appointment was met with frustration by large parts of the Ashton Gate faithful and you can't really blame them. After all, they'd been promised a breath of fresh air by the club hierarchy, had been linked with some big names, and then saw the former assistant get the nod after a month-long wait.

So far, it's seemed an inspired decision but Holden himself will know that the real tests are yet to come.

Even so, the Robins deserve credit. We've been keeping a close eye on City's performances this term and have highlighted two trends that have emerged...

Bodies in the box

Something that has become very clear over the first few weeks of the season is the number of bodies that City are keen to commit into the opposition box at any opportunity.

Holden's favoured 3-5-2 formation means that the Robins are regularly attacking with at least six players – the two strikers, the two wing-backs and the two more attack-minded central midfielders (usually Jamie Paterson and Andi Weimann) – and it's not a rare sight to see the majority of those players crashing into the box.

What that means is that it's often a City player that connects first with a cross or is there to pounce on a lose ball, and that has been key in their positive start to the campaign.

No moment better exemplifies this than Tommy Rowe's goal against Sheffield Wednesday. A diagonal ball from just left of centre is floated into Chris Martin, whose cushioned header is met by Rowe inside the six-yard box – having burst into the box from left wing-back.

At the time the defender connects with the ball there are four Robins players in the box and that's not including striker Nahki Wells, who played the ball to Martin in the first place.

It's not something that would've always been the case in recent years and it shows perfectly the positivity with which City have started the season under their new coach. Long may it continue.

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Consistent team selection

Lee Johnson deserves a huge amount of credit for the impact he had at Ashton Gate and how he helped the club progress during his four years in Bs3 but the constant chopping and changing of his side during the latter part of his tenure is something no City fan will miss.

Under Holden, there has been a real consistency when it comes to team selection in the Championship. Apart from installing Tyreeq Bakinson instead of Han-Noah Massengo after the season opener, the only changes made (Alfie Mawson into the backline, Rowe in for Jay Dasilva at wing-back) have been made due to injuries.

In fact, there have been no changes to the starting XI in their last three league games and the side's synergy has proven that the right approach.

Gone is Johnson's tombola – as his approach to selection was often known – instead, there is a clear identity beginning to emerge at Ashton Gate and, so far, it's brought with it success.