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Bristol City’s draw with Swansea City last weekend has seen them slip out of the play-off places and down into seventh place.

The Robins know the anguish of being on the outside of the top six looking in only too well after a late slump in form saw slide down the table to an eighth-place finish in the 2018/19 campaign.

Lee Johnson’s men looked to have put that behind them this term as, after an opening weekend defeat, they picked up 14 points in six games and made their way up the table.

However, the loss of first-choice striker Benik Afobe, who is set to miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury, looks to have understandably rocked their confidence.

The one-all draw with the Swans was by no means a bad result but their opponents looked like the side more likely to win the game, which is never a good sign in a home tie.

City now travel to Deepdale to face a Preston North End side that have won all four of their home league games this season and are flying high in third place.

A loss to Alex Neil’s side would likely see City drop back further from the play-off places. Johnson needs to add something that can help to ensure that doesn’t happen and to revitalise his side’s promotion push.

Niclas Eliasson could just be that. The Swedish winger lack of opportunities has, in all honesty, been mystifying so far this season.

The 23-year-old was the Robins highest provider of assists last season, with seven, despite starting only 21 times in the Championship.

He has had even less involvement in the 2019/20 campaign and has been reduced to just one start and five substitute appearances in the league, in addition to one Carabao Cup start.

Yet still he has looked a livewire when given the opportunity. No player in the squad has provided more assists than his two this season, while he has proved his worth both on and off the ball.

According to Bristol Live, Eliasson has provided the most key passes and the most successful tackles per 90 minutes of any player with more than 200 minutes in the Championship this season.

When Afobe was fit, his omission was understandable given that Johnson was regularly opting for a 3-4-1-2 formation with two upfront. However, against Swansea he used Callum O’Dowda and Sammie Szmodics as wide players, showing that will likely be his tactic moving forward.

The tie against Preston could be huge for City’s momentum and a win would likely provide a massive boost for their play-off push.

Eliasson could help them grab that and he simply has to start.