Championship | Gameweek 26

Jan 4, 2025 at 3pm UK

Ashton Gate Stadium

Bristol City vs Derby

Match preview

Bristol City sit 10th in the table, five points adrift of the play-off places, having won eight, drawn 10 and lost seven of their 25 league games this season.

The Robins recently bounced back from a 2-0 defeat away to West Bromwich Albion to record successive home wins over Luton Town and Portsmouth without conceding a goal.

They looked set for another win away to bottom side Plymouth Argyle on Wednesday, twice taking the lead thanks to goals from Anis Mehmeti and Jason Knight.

Unfortunately for the Robins, Julio Pleguezuelo's stoppage-time equaliser denied them all three points and left them without a win in five consecutive away games.

After struggling on the road, Bristol City will be eager to return to Ashton Gate, where they have dropped just two points from their last four home games.They will be confident of extending their four-match unbeaten home run, having won each of their last three home games against Derby.

The Rams go into the weekend on the back of a poor run of form, with one win and three defeats in their last four matches.

Derby bounced back from a narrow defeat at Luton Town with a 2-1 home win over West Brom, before going down 1-0 at home to promotion-chasing Leeds United.

Paul Warne's side endured another disappointing outing on New Year's Day, as goals from Jerry Yates and Ebou Adams proved to be the difference in a 4-2 away defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

The defeat saw Derby drop to 17th in the Championship table, five points above the bottom three.

The defeat at Hillsborough also extended Derby's winless away run to five games (D2, L3), suggesting they may have their work cut out to record a first away win over Bristol City since April 2019.

The Rams will at least take confidence from the reverse fixture in August, when goals from Kenzo Goudmijn, Kayden Jackson and David Ozoh secured a 3-0 win at Pride Park.

Recent Performance

Bristol City Championship form:DDLWWD

Derby County Championship form:DWLWLL

Team News

Bristol City boss Liam Manning will be without midfielder Joe Williams and striker Sinclair Armstrong due to injury.

Mark Sykes and Kal Naismith are both inching closer to a return to action, but it remains to be seen whether Saturday's game will come too soon for the pair.

Left-back Cameron Pring will be assessed by the club's medical staff after being forced off in the first half against Plymouth.

Meanwhile, the visitors will have to make a decision on the availability of Corey Blackett-Taylor and Joe Ward after the pair missed the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday with groin and knee problems respectively.

Midfielder Ben Osborn is in a race against time to prove his fitness ahead of Saturday's trip to Ashton Gate.

However, the Rams will be without the services of Eiran Cashin, David Ozoh and Ryan Nyambe through injury.

Possible starting lineup

Bristol City possible starting lineup:

O'Leary; Vyner, Dickie, McNally; McCorie, Knight, Bird, Roberts; Twine, Mehmeti; Bell

Derby County possible starting lineup:

Widell Zetterstrom; Phillips, Nelson, Elder; Wilson, Adams, Thompson, Forsyth; Jackson, Mendez-Laing; Yates