Bristol City vs Stoke City

Ashton Gate Stadium is the venue as Bristol City and Stoke City go head-to-head in a bottom-half EFL Championship six-pointer.

Bristol City came flying out of the traps after a four-week break to accommodate the Qatar World Cup, cruising to a 3-1 victory at Rotherham to bail themselves out of trouble and move three points away from the relegation zone. Before last weekend’s success, the ‘Robins’ have alternated between drawing (3) and losing (3) across their six previous competitive matches, averaging a measly 0.5 goals per game. Back at Ashton Gate Stadium, where they last won in mid-October, Nigel Pearson’s men are desperate to arrest a frustrating run of four winless home league fixtures (D2, L2). That could prove a daunting task, as they take on a Stoke side they’ve only defeated once in their four previous Championship H2Hs on home turf (D1, L2).

In the meantime, Stoke City battled back from an early deficit to hold Cardiff City to an enthralling 2-2 home draw last time out, making it two Championship matches without winning in a row (D1, L1). Stuck in the lower reaches, only two points clear of relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic, the ‘Potters’ will have to defy a patch away league form (W4, D2, L5) if they’re to avenge back-to-back 1-0 defeats to Bristol. However, slow to react after falling behind on the road, Alex Neil’s men have racked up just one point from losing positions in their six such away Championship games this season (D1, L5). So conceding first could lead to another disappointment for Stoke, whose porous backline has let in 2+ goals on two of their last three domestic travels.