Preview: Bristol City vs. Swansea City

Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Championship clash between Bristol City and Swansea City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Bristol City and Swansea City square off on Sunday with both teams looking for the win that will ease any lingering relegation concerns.

Ahead of the weekend’s fixtures, these two teams sit in 14th and 15th in the standings respectively, but within six points of the bottom three.

Match preview
© Reuters

While there have been times when Liam Manning has looked like building a good team at Bristol City, that does not feel like the case right now.

Positives will be taken from how the Robins pushed Ipswich Town in midweek, yet the end result was a 3-2 defeat in a game in which they led with 10 minutes left.

That marked the fourth defeat in succession and left Bristol City with just two wins from 12 matches in the second tier, effectively ending any feint playoff hopes.

As well as being 13 points adrift of the top six, Manning’s side are just six points above the bottom three with games against promotion-chasing West Bromwich Albion and Leicester City to come either side of the international break.

Such a scenario ramps up the pressure ahead of this showdown, particularly when Swansea are finally finding some form under Luke Williams.

Supporters had been left unconvinced when Swansea lost six of their seven fixtures between January 20 and February 17, conceding 18 goals in the process.

However, since a spirited 2-1 reverse at home to Ipswich, the Welsh outfit have collected seven points from a possible nine, beating Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers by 2-1 scorelines.

Despite letting slip a lead to draw 1-1 at Watford in midweek, it most definitely felt like another step in the right direction, Swansea really starting to show a greater sense of unity than they did under Michael Duff.

They also travel to Bristol with the eighth-best away record in the division, accumulating 23 points from 18 games and remaining unbeaten in their last three such outings.

Bristol City Championship form:

Swansea City Championship form:

Team News
© Reuters

Mark Sykes and Tommy Conway will each expect to return to the Bristol City XI after they combined for the team’s second goal at Ipswich.

Harry Cornick and Nahki Wells will almost certainly drop out of the side, and they may prove to be the only two alterations made by Manning.

Williams made full use of his Swansea substitutes to freshen up his team during the closing half-hour at Vicarage Road.

However, none of the players that were introduced could claim to have made a noteworthy impression, and the same team could be named for this game.

As it stands, Liam Walsh and Josh Ginnelly are the only two confirmed injury absentees.

Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O’Leary; McCrorie, Vyner, Dickie, Pring; Williams, Gardner-Hickman; Cornick, Knight, Sykes; Conway

Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Rushworth; Darling, Cabango, Wood, Tymon; Fulton, Grimes; Ronald, Paterson, Placheta; Yates

We say: Bristol City 1-1 Swansea City
Despite their mid-table status, there may be some nerves on show at Ashton Gate as each team looks to move further clear of the bottom three. However, given the competitive nature when these two teams meet, do not be surprised to see a low-scoring draw play out.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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