Bristol City take on Middlesbrough at Ashton Gate this weekend, as the home side hope to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat against Swansea City.
In their previous match-up, the Robins suffered a 2-1 defeat at the Riverside Stadium for their first away game of the 2021/22 season, much to the disappointment of City boss Nigel Pearson, who deemed his side's performance as 'careless'.
The Visitors
Middlesbrough currently sit in sixth place in the EFL Championship, with 49 points, and sit just nine points away from the automatic promotion spots heading into the weekend's action.
Form
Bristol City –LWLDL
The Robins come off the back of a 3-1 defeat at the Swansea.com Stadium, having only picked up four points from their last five games. However, their home form is certainly impressive, with Bristol City winning six of their last nine games at Ashton Gate.
Middlesbrough – WDWLW
Middlesbrough are currently one of the most in-form teams in the Championship, only losing one of their last ten games, though have not been so successful away from the Riverside Stadium. Despite being on an upward trajectory, Boro have only won three games away from home in their last ten away fixtures, picking up just eleven points out of a total thirty.
Injury and Suspension Updates
Bristol City – The Robins will remain without the likes of Andy King, Matty James, Kasey Palmer, George Tanner, and Nathan Baker for this Saturday's game, as well as Max O'Leary, who left the field with a dead leg in Swansea last weekend.
Middlesbrough – Boro will remain without Marc Bola, Martin Payero, as well as Sammy Ameobi and Darnell Fisher, with the latter two set to be side-lined for the remainder of the season.
Squad Predictions
Bristol City – The Robins will start with Dan Bentley in goal, after Max O'Leary was forced off at the weekend, though the skipper's return will likely be welcomed by the City support. Ahead of him, we should see the likes of Jay Dasilva, Tomáš Kalas, Timm Klose, and Cameron Pring, with Zak Vyner dropping out of the side after a poor performance at the weekend. In midfield, Alex Scott, Han-Noah Massengo and Joe Williams should start, with a front three of Antoine Semenyo, Chris Martin and Andreas Weimann.
Middlesbrough – As the famous saying goes, you shouldn't change something that isn't broken, and with Boro coming off the back of a 4-1 win against Derby County, their starting eleven should remain very similar. Joe Lumley should remain in goal, with a back five of Isaiah Jones, Anfernee Dijksteel, Dael Fry, Paddy McNair and Neil Taylor. In midfield, Matt Crooks, Jonny Howson and Marcus Tavernier should start, with Aaron Connolly and Folarin Balogun up front.
Referees
The officials for Saturday's match will be as follows:
Referee: Leigh Doughty
Assistant Referees: Nick Greenhalgh and Adrian Waters
Fourth Official : Christopher Sarginson
Referee Leigh Doughty has given out 61 yellow cards in 14 games, with an average of 4.36 per game. He has also given out four red cards this season in the EFL Championship, and two penalties.
The Verdict
With Bristol City determined to bounce back from their frustrating defeat in Wales, they will certainly put up a fight against promotion challengers Middlesbrough, whose away form is appearing to be somewhat of a weakness for the northern side.
However, Boro are certainly a tough team to beat, so it would certainly be fair to expect a very close and competitive game at Ashton Gate at the weekend, with both sides likely to see the back of the net.
Score prediction – 1-1