Bristol City vs Blackpool

Blackpool’s first Championship fixture since returning to the second-tier following a six-year hiatus pits them against Bristol City at Ashton Gate.

A scintillating start might help Bristol City erase the memory of an underwhelming end to the 2020/21 season that saw them fail to win any of their final ten Championship fixtures (D3, L7). However, that could be easier said than done, as they go up against a side they haven’t defeated in their last five Championship meetings (D3, L2). Yet, Nigel Pearson’s team can take some courage from a solid start to the previous league campaign that saw them lose only 23.08% of their opening 13 Championship fixtures (W7, D3, L3). With that said, Bristol City suffered a horrendous nine defeats in their final ten Championship outings at Ashton Gate down the final stretch of last season, drawing a blank seven times in the process.

On the other hand, Blackpool sealed a long-awaited return to the Championship last season after being relegated to League One in 2015. After amassing 80 points during the regular season, the ‘Seasiders’ went on to oust Oxford United and Lincoln in the play-offs to regain the second-tier status. But Neil Critchley’s side will hope for a better start to the season this time around, having begun the last league campaign with just two wins from the opening nine matches (D1, L6). Notably, though, Blackpool can rely on an impressive away form at the tail-end of last season, as they won three straight league trips by an aggregate score of 7-0 to sign off for the 2020/21 campaign.