Pick of the stats: Bristol City v Wrexhampublished at 10:01 GMT 16 February
10:01 GMT 16 February
Bristol City and Wrexham will face each other harbouring hopes of regaining a place in the play-off positions when they meet at Ashton Gate on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).
Both sides are in prime position to oust current sixth place holders Derby County but will need to take a win to do so.
This is the first time Bristol City are hosting Wrexham in a league match since April 2005, and a 1-0 win for the Robins in League One.
Following their 2-0 win in November, Wrexham are looking to complete the league double over Bristol City in the Football League for the third time (also 1962-63 and 1980-81).
Bristol City lost 5-0 against Derby in their last home league game. They last lost consecutive league matches at Ashton Gate in November 2024, while they last did so without scoring in March 2024.
Wrexham have won their last four away league games, having been winless in their previous eight on the road (D5 L3). They last won five in a row in the same Football League campaign in April/May 2003 in the fourth tier.
Bristol City forward Emil Riis' next goal will be his 50th in the Championship. He would be the first Danish player to reach this milestone in the EFL (Championship, League One, League Two) since the 2004 rebrand.
When is FA Cup fifth-round draw?published at 08:16 GMT 16 February
08:16 GMT 16 February
Image source, Getty Images
The 2025-26 FA Cup fifth-round draw will take place on Monday, 16 February at about 18:35 GMT.
It will be done before the fourth-round tie between Macclesfield Town - the lowest-ranked team left in the competition - and Brentford, with former England internationals Joe Cole and Karen Carney conducting the draw on TNT Sports.
Supporters can also follow the draw on the BBC Sport website and app.
All matches will be played around the weekend commencing Saturday, 7 March.
Unlike in previous years, there are no replays if matches end as a draw. All ties will go to extra time, and if necessary, a penalty shootout.
You can also listen to today's 5 Live commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Burton v West Ham" of "ask BBC Sounds to play Liverpool v Brighton", for instance.
Pick of the stats: Port Vale v Bristol Citypublished at 11:37 GMT 13 February
11:37 GMT 13 February
Port Vale will be aiming to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time this millennia as they host Championship side Bristol City.
The Valiants are currently struggling at the bottom of the League One table this season but are enjoying their best FA Cup run in over a decade.
However, the Robins thumped an in-form Watford 5-1 to progress to this stage of the competition and are contending for the play-offs in the tier above.
Port Vale and Bristol City have never previously faced each other in the FA Cup, with this the first meeting between the two sides since a 3-1 victory for the Robins in League One in February 2015.
Bristol City have won eight of their last nine games against Port Vale (D1) – since the first game in this run in April 2005, their 89% win-rate against the Valiants is their strongest against any side they've played more than three times.
This is Port Vale's first FA Cup fourth round tie since falling to a 3-1 defeat to Brighton in 2013-14. The Valiants have been eliminated from five of their last six ties at this stage of the competition, last progressing to the fifth round in 1995-96.
Bristol City have progressed from five of their last six FA Cup ties against sides from a lower division, while they have won eight of their last 10 away games in the competition against lower tier opponents.
Emil Riis has been involved in five goals in four starts in the FA Cup (4 goals, 1 assist), scoring a hat-trick for Bristol City in their 5-1 win in this season's third round, their first FA Cup hat-trick since Phil Jevons in December 2006 against Gillingham
City must leave 'everything on table' at Port Valepublished at 12:55 GMT 12 February
12:55 GMT 12 February
Media caption,
Struber: 'We make no experiments'
Bristol City have to leave everything "on the table" in their FA Cup fourth round tie against Port Vale, said head coach Gerhard Struber.
The Robins travel to the League One basement side on Saturday (15:00 GMT) and Struber said he wants the game to be a matter of how they win, not if they win.
"We have a really big chance for the next round and we want to [leave] everything in this game on the table," Struber said.
"It's crystal clear that we are the favourite... I want to see our principles and see in a game like that the typical phase from us - not so much who should win this game [but] which content in the game helps us in the end to win."
Bristol City have reached the fifth round of the competition three times in the past eight seasons but not progressed further.
The squad will likely be without captain Jason Knight again after the Republic of Ireland international missed last weekend's win at Hull because of an ankle injury.
"The injury is not so bad," Struber added. "We want to have him back hopefully the next few days, he's on the training pitch with the boys, everything right now looks really positive.
"Maybe against Wrexham [17 February] he is an option."
"My agent called me the end of the week before, before the window was shutting, and said they were interested.
"There was no way I was turning it down. I had a really good talk with the people here and with the coach - seeing where the club is right now, with the ambition that is here it was a no-brainer to come."
The 23-year-old grew up in Malmo, where he began his football career but after a number of loan moves away he transferred to the New York City side in 2024.
While he did not know Robins head coach Gerhard Struber personally before moving across the Atlantic, the Austrian boss used to coach at Red Bull Salzburg - sister club to the MLS side - and as such knew his style of play.
"The style of play I know very well, I played [it] the last two years - it's not exactly the same, obviously every coach is different - but I know about how he wants to play," Eile said.
Robins still have more to give in play-off racepublished at 12:27 GMT 9 February
12:27 GMT 9 February
David Pottier Fan writer
Image source, Shutterstock
Bristol City made main news bulletins and even drew comment in the New York Times at the weekend. This, though, was not because they bounced back from a 5-0 home drubbing by Derby with a 3-2 win at the MKM Stadium to end Hull's recent good form.
That worldwide attention came because the second half of the game saw a squirrel invade the pitch not once, but twice! The furry creature evaded capture on numerous occasions before play could restart, they delay totalling eight minutes.
It would have been harsh on City, who were leading 3-1 at the time before conceding a second, had the home team scored an undeserved equaliser during the 10 minutes of added time.
City had gone into the game at the end of a troubled week with talk of players feeling demotivated by the transfer out of popular dressing room colleagues Zak Vyner and Anis Mehmeti.
Such rumours only fanned the flames of ire directed towards the club hierarchy with claims they lacked ambition and had written off this season even though the play-offs remain a possibility.
When City went a goal down after a bright opening, the doom-mongers amongst the fan base were poised at their keyboards ready to heap on further criticism through the various social media platforms.
But City hit back with two goals before the break and made the game safe with a third within three minutes of the restart. The third goal was the pick of the three as the hardworking Scott Twine produced a defence-splitting pass that allowed Emil Riis to fire home his 11th goal of the season.
The Robins could not relax in the final phase of the game as an uncharacteristic error by goalkeeper Rajek Vitek gifted the Tigers a second goal but they were helped in protecting that lead when Joe Williams came on as a substitute following his long injury lay-off. He showed enough in the 20 minutes he was on that if he can remain fit, he will offer the team a positive level of aggression in midfield.
With 15 games remaining, the maths dictates that City have to win eight to have a realistic chance of sneaking into sixth like they did last season. It is feasible that exceeding last season's points total [68] could still see them fall short.
Their next league match is on Tuesday 17 February when Wrexham come to Ashton Gate. It is a must-win game which would see City leapfrog the mid-Wales side on the table.
Before then City have a 'should win' FA Cup tie at Port Vale. Expect wholesale team changes from coach Struber for that one.
Barring Luke McNally, still out for a now indefinite period, the Austrian has a full squad to select from which should include another long-term injury returnee, Max Bird.
Bristol City on a 'really high level' - Struberpublished at 18:49 GMT 7 February
18:49 GMT 7 February
Image source, Shutterstock
Image caption,
Gerhard Struber's side are just a point off the play-off places
Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber says he was pleased with the reaction his side showed in their 3-2 win at Hull City.
The Robins went into the trip to Humberside having been thrashed 5-0 at home by Derby County last week.
But the Robins got an impressive win at the MKM Stadium to move within a point off the play-off places.
"We know what we had a week ago and I think today was reaction time and the boys showed a really good face against a team that had a really big momentum and many, many wins," he told BBC Radio Bristol:
"The win and the performance was on a really high level otherwise you could not win here.
"The resilience was on a really high level, and this is something that you need in the Championship, you need in the end front foot style players who are always ready to press high, but also players that are smart and understand what the game needs.
"In the end our box defending was great and to bring the points home in this way was not easy, but we did it."
Pick of the stats: Hull City v Bristol Citypublished at 15:02 GMT 5 February
15:02 GMT 5 February
Hull City's five-match unbeaten Championship run has taken them up to third place in the table, four points outside the automatic promotion places.
The Tigers will be without forward Yu Hirakawa for the visit of Bristol City as he will not be allowed to play against his parent club who themselves are four points short of the play-off places.
Hull City have won just one of their past 15 league games against Bristol City (D6 L8), a 2-1 home win in July 2022.
Following their 4-2 win in August, Bristol City are looking to do the league double over Hull for just the second time in the 21st century, the first coming in the 2019-20 campaign.
Hull City have lost just one of their past 11 league games (W8 D2), with the Tigers' eight wins the most of any Championship side since the start of this run in December.
No side have kept more clean sheets in the Championship than Bristol City this season (11). However, at the other end the Robins have failed to score in four of their past five games.
No player has been involved in more Championship goals this season than Hull's Oliver McBurnie (16 – 11 goals, 5 assists). It is also his second best return in an English league campaign, after 2018-19 (22 goals, 4 assists).
Robins need 'massive reaction' at Hull - McCroriepublished at 11:11 GMT 5 February
11:11 GMT 5 February
Image source, Shutterstock
Bristol City need to show a "massive reaction" to their 5-0 thrashing by Derby when they travel to Hull on Saturday, says defender Ross McCrorie.
The loss was Bristol City's biggest defeat at home since 2010 and leaves them 10th in the Championship table.
Hull, meanwhile, are flying high in third, 11 points ahead of the Robins.
"It'll be difficult but we just need to be honest, it needs to be a massive reaction," McCrorie told BBC Radio Bristol.
Bristol City have won only once in their past five games and also lost 10 players through the January transfer window, bringing six in.
Yet McCrorie said he believes the club have the players to push on and challenge for the top six.
"We've lost big players, we've lost a lot of players this window which is not ideal but I always look on the positives - we brought in top quality players," he said.
"We just had a sticky patch in January, it's not been ideal, we wanted to put on a bit of form and start picking up results because a lot of teams are starting to pull away so we just need to concentrate on ourselves, get our house in order and start to pick up three points every week."
Are City swapping short-term aims for long-term gain?published at 16:11 GMT 3 February
16:11 GMT 3 February
Ed Hadwin BBC Radio Bristol
Image source, Shutterstock
Image caption,
Sam Morsy was Bristol City's first signing of the January transfer window
Bristol City fans have certainly been through a proper emotional rollercoaster over this transfer window.
It all started relatively well, with Sam Morsy and George Earthy arriving early, while a number of senior players who have not been able to make a big impact on the team leaving to make space in the squad.
But the elephant in the room was the contract situations of two of their key players, Anis Mehmeti and Zac Vyner. Both of their deals were finishing in the summer, and despite the club offering what they characterised as very good offers, they had not signed them.
So it was no real surprise when both left for Championship rivals, with City earning about £5m in transfer fees but losing arguably their two most important players.
Cue huge levels of frustration and angst from City fans. Their departures played into a narrative that the club continues to sell their best players (Adam Webster, Josh Brownhill, Bobby Reid, Antoine Semenyo and Alex Scott to name just a few in recent years) which is why they continually fall short of their goal of reaching the Premier League.
This season in particular seems like a great chance for teams like City to finally have a real go, with the very top teams in the Championship not quite reaching the peak of some in previous seasons.
To see rivals significantly strengthen, while their club appears to be getting weaker sparked some real anger. That was only made worse by some poor recent performances, topped off by their 5-0 hammering by Derby County, which left a lot of supporters looking for the club to prove they had not just given up on this season.
Middlesbrough's Delano Burgzorg arrived on loan to bolster their attacking options, and on deadline day, they signed two very interesting players. Tomi Horvat, a Slovenian international midfielder with a lovely left foot, came from Sturm Graz, while young Swedish defender Noah Eile moved to Ashton Gate from MLS side New York Red Bulls with a reputation as an impressive ball-playing centre-back.
Both look to be very good players who could add significantly to the team this season and for the next few years. But neither has played in the Championship before, and while the hope is they will hit the ground running, it might take a bit of time to adjust to the pace and physicality.
So, have City swapped their best chance of winning now for the long-term future of the team? We will have to wait and see.
'Fans despondent at Ashton Gate'published at 14:54 GMT 3 February
14:54 GMT 3 February
David Pottier Fan writer
Image source, Shutterstock
Last weekend was not a good one for Bristol City.
The club approached the Friday night game against Derby County knowing a win would move them into the top six, if only overnight until Saturday's games had been completed.
It was a bad day at the office as the Rams recorded an emphatic 5-0 victory to propel themselves into sixth, leapfrogging City in the table.
Every Derby goal came from basic defensive failures, poor positioning, slow reactions and naive decision-making.
John Eustace's side did not need to do anything spectacular - they simply executed the fundamentals far better than we did.
The fact of the matter is that City's form has dropped off significantly since the last time they conceded five which was at Stoke at the start of November. The 18 games, including that reverse, have yielded only 21 points which is in stark contrast to the opening 12 games where 22 points were gained.
Has Struber's style been found out? Are we too easy to play against? No matter, the Austrian has the support of the fanbase whose discontent is aimed in another direction.
In the first half of the previous weekend's game against Sheffield Wednesday, chants of "sack the board" came from a small section of the crowd. Such words have not been heard at Ashton Gate for decades.
There is no 'board' in the literal sense as this club is owned by one man, Steve Lansdown. Even though his son carries the title of chairman, Steve has the final say on everything. As he reminds the fans, perhaps too often in their eyes, why shouldn't he as he pays the bills!
Why were the fans reacting in this negative way?
Never mind looking at the progress made by the likes of Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford, these fans see careful stewardship taking precedence over being overly ambitious.
This transfer window has seen the club sell or loan first-team squad members to play-off rivals. There is a sound business case for this, namely getting money for players now who could walk out the door for nothing in the summer when their contracts run out [Mehmeti, Vyner] or not featuring in the coach's plans [Hirakawa].
In all, 10 players have exited the club in January and, with the last-ditch signings of Tomi Horvat and Noah Eile as the window slammed shut, six have come in. Has it been a good window? That is open to question - all the players have something to offer but I don't think anyone can say the squad is stronger.
Derby were in a financial mess three years ago but boasted a strike force of Patrick Agyemang, Ben Brereton Diaz and Rhian Brewster. Any of those would walk straight into City's offensive positions.
This weekend's opposition, Hull City, have had financial issues such that they are currently under a transfer embargo. The constraints of that are so loose that they have made a plethora of signings in the window as they seek to consolidate their current top-six placing. These were a mix of free agents and loans with the latter including Lewis Koumas and Toby Collyer from Liverpool and Manchester United, respectively.
It baffles me why City have ignored the loan market at this time.
The fact is that the vocal minority were inferring what the majority are thinking: When compared to other clubs aiming for promotion/play-offs, who recruited for the here and now in an attempt to ensure good results, we appear to have not.
The 'noise' of that minority did enough to prompt Lansdown to make himself available for an interview with Radio Bristol prior to Friday's game and to say that it was an error of judgement would be an understatement.
What the owner had to say was heard by many fans on their way to the game alongside those who chose to stay at home on a very wet night and on a day when traffic issues in the Greater Bristol area were horrendous.
For me, it seemed to create an air of despondency among the crowd which seemed to spread on to the pitch. Indeed, if the words of the television commentator are to be believed, Struber had to explain to the players the rationale behind selling popular team-mate and star man Mehmeti during a promotion challenge.
There was talk of investment from outside parties but fans were reminded by Steve that "I pay the cheques" and we had a recruitment department that was "second to none" - two comments that provoked ire in the eyes of some fans I am sure!
Can City bridge the four-point gap between themselves and sixth?
The games coming up against the Tigers and Wrexham will have a bearing on that and sandwiched between those two fixtures is a tricky FA Cup fourth-round tie against Port Vale. City's form right now suggests a cup upset could be on the cards.
City have not disclosed whether the side from the Portuguese top flight have paid a fee for Mayulu, who still had more than two-and-a-half years left on his deal at Ashton Gate.
Having scored twice in his first three appearances for City, Mayulu did not manage another goal and was loaned out to Sturm Graz a year ago.
He has made 10 Championship appearances this season, nine of them as a substitute.
Follow transfer deadline daypublished at 12:44 GMT 2 February
12:44 GMT 2 February
Image source, Getty Images
Today is the final chance of the season for your Championship team to do transfer business.
The window closes at 19:00 GMT, meaning teams - and fans - can avoid the usual late-night transfer scramble.
It has already been a busy window - for some teams anyway - but whether it turns out to be a day of transfer action or a pretty quiet one for your club, you will be able to keep across it all on BBC Sport.
