Bristol City

David Pottier
Fan writer

Image source, Shutterstock

When Coventry's player of the match was their goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, you get the impression that despite losing, Bristol City put in a decent performance and were worthy of a point from Saturday's clash at the CBS Arena.

That's the problem with City at the moment. For the most part they are playing well.

But Saturday's result means they have now only won two of their past nine games and are 12 points adrift of second-placed Middlesbrough who visit Ashton Gate on Saturday.

It is not an absolute must-win game but with two tough away fixtures to follow at West Bromwich Albion and Millwall, further lapses will see them cut adrift from the play-off places in a league table that has become more stretched out after the latest round of fixtures.

City have had three goals disallowed in the past five games and two of those may well have stood had VAR been operating in the Championship.

Last weekend against Millwall saw Zak Vyner's equaliser chalked off as the assistant referee flagged for an offside against Ross McCrorie as he headed Adam Randell's raking pass into the path of the City defender.

Then on Saturday, Sinclair Armstrong slotted the ball home for a goal that would have given City the lead but the referee adjudged him to have handled the ball.

Both decisions may have been incorrect and when you add to the fact that City haven't been awarded a penalty on their travels for almost three years, the Millwall chant of "no-one likes us, we don't care" could be aimed by the club at the PGMOL, who have apologised more than once in recent times for errors made by matchday officials.

Sandwiched between the Millwall and Coventry defeats though was the thrilling midweek draw against Leicester.

Despite trailing by two goals at the interval, City fought back to level. At the height of the relentless second-half pressure, the Leicester goalkeeper appeared to pick up a head injury which, as the rules demand, brought an immediate cessation to the game.

While being attended to by the physio, the whole Leicester team came across to the technical area for a mid-half team talk from manager Marti Cifuentes - all rather convenient as I saw it and not for the first time this season.

It is another example of taking the dark arts to a new level which is something City appear quite naive at compared to some clubs.

You can hear more from David Pottier on the Forever Bristol City podcast, external

Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber said his side had "problems" with being able to score in their 1-0 defeat by Coventry.

The Robins had nine shots on target to the league leaders' four during the match as they hit the post and saw Sinclair Armstrong's first-half goal ruled out for handball by the striker.

Struber added his side had "top chances" but were unable to convert them.

"I am really happy how we deal with the opponent today and we was in a really good way but we have to score and this is the difference between them and us - that they can use chances and we have the gap," Struber told BBC Radio Bristol.

"We are so close and we can see we can be with the top team in the league for the most of the time on the same level, but in the most important moments they have this ability and we have also good chances and we should use that.

"Their goalkeeper was on an outstanding level and caught one or other balls that was crazy sometimes. But these are the moments where we have to be super sharp and clinical.

"Sincs and Emil they did today a really good job. Sincs was really dangerous with his forward runs, the timing, also his link up - they created a really difficult game for the defence from Coventry.

"On the same time we have top chances and we have to use it.

"This is the only gap at the moment what I can see; the boys invest a lot, the effort was on an outstanding great level, our possession game, our transition game, against a top team in the league we played on a really high level but we lose this game [as we] have problems to score."

Championship leaders Coventry City will look to return to winning ways when they welcome play-off chasing Bristol City on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Sky Blues have gone two games without a win in the league for the first time since September, having previously won 11 of 12, but are still unbeaten at home this season (W7 D2).

The Robins rescued a valuable 2-2 draw with Leicester from two goals down last time out but have only won two of their previous eight (D2 L4) to leave them in 10th, though they are just one point off the top six.

• Coventry City have lost none of their past five home league games against Bristol City (W3 D2), last losing to the Robins in October 2014 in League One.

• Bristol City have won one of their past nine league matches against Coventry (D4 L4), a 1-0 home win in October 2023.

• Coventry have won their previous six home league matches – they last had a longer home winning run between May and October 2021 (seven under Mark Robins).

• Bristol City have won four of their nine away league games this season (D3 L2) – already as many as they won in 23 away games in 2024-25 (W4 D10 L9).

• Bristol City's Emil Riis has scored four goals in his past six league appearances against Coventry, all for Preston North End.

Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber spoke to BBC Radio Bristol after Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Leicester.

"I have mixed feelings today," he said.

"I would say that we saw, in this game, two different [Bristol City] teams. In the first half it was a little bit sloppy and we needed, at half-time, to change and also a clear speech about what we had to do differently in the second half.

"It was clear, and I told the boys, that when we get that first goal they will maybe have doubtful moments.

"But the most important thing is that it was so much more in our behaviours, more of our typical style of football and this made us difficult for them.

"It was a completely different team in the second half. The belief from the boys to bounce back in the second half showed us one more time how big the character, how big the mentality is."

Image source, Shutterstock

Defender Neto Borges says he is "open" to staying at Bristol City beyond this season when his loan deal ends in the summer.

The 29-year-old Brazilian left-back has played 13 matches since joining from Middlesbrough on deadline day in September, starting nine of the past 12 league games.

When asked if he would be open to a conversation about staying with the Robins in 2026-27, Borges told BBC Radio Bristol: "Definitely, yes, if the conversation happens I'm open to it.

"I know I'm on loan here but you never know the future. I'm not saying I'm going to be here next year, because I don't know the plans of the guys here, but I'm part of the team this season, so I'm enjoying my time here."

Image source, Getty Images

The FA Cup third round draw was made on Monday evening, with all 24 Championship clubs entering at this stage of the competition.

Ties will take place between Thursday, 8 January and Monday, 12 January.

These are the ties involving Championship clubs:

• Cambridge United v Birmingham City

• Hull City v Blackburn Rovers

• Bristol City v Watford

• Charlton Athletic v Chelsea

• Stoke City v Coventry

• Derby County v Leeds United

• Ipswich Town v Blackpool

• Cheltenham Town v Leicester City

• Fulham v Middlesbrough

• Burnley v Millwall

• Norwich City v Walsall

• MK Dons v Oxford United

• Portsmouth v Arsenal

• Preston North End v Wigan Athletic

• West Ham United v Queens Park Rangers

• Sheffield United v Mansfield Town

• Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford

• Doncaster Rovers v Southampton

• Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion

• Wrexham v Nottingham Forest

You can see the full draw here.

Image source, Opta

There's a big game at Ashton Gate on Wednesday (19:45 GMT) as Leicester City head to Bristol City looking for back-to-back wins to climb towards the play-off places.

After a 3-1 win in the East Midlands derby at Derby on Saturday the Foxes lie 14th, but could overhaul the seventh-placed Robins with a win, so tightly-packed is the middle of the Championship table.

Inconsistent Bristol City went down 1-0 at home to Millwall on Saturday for a second defeat in three games and have now lost two of their past three at Ashton Gate without scoring.

• Bristol City have won three of their past four home league games against Leicester (L1), as many as they had in their previous 14 between 1921 and 2010 (D5 L6).

• Leicester have won three of their past four league games against Bristol City, though did lose their last meeting 1-0 at Ashton Gate in March 2024.

• Bristol City have lost their past two midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (v Blackburn and Wrexham), as many as they had in their previous 15 (W6 D7).

• Leicester are winless in their past eight midweek (Tues, Weds, Thurs) league games (D2 L6), alternating between a draw and a defeat in their four Championship games this season.

• Leicester manager Martí Cifuentes has never lost in four league meetings with Bristol City, though three of those have ended level (W1).

David Pottier
Bristol City fan writer

Image source, Shutterstock

Bristol City made the headlines over the weekend, not for what happened on the pitch against Millwall but off it, immediately after referee Ed Duckworth had blown his final whistle.

A few minutes prior to that, Duckworth had disallowed City an overdue equaliser as he acknowledged the linesman's offside flag against Ross McCrorie whose header was lashed home by Zak Vyner.

It was a very questionable decision and had VAR been in operation, the goal may well have been allowed to stand. I am not saying what followed was triggered by this decision, but it certainly did not help the situation.

It is customary at the end of games for both managers to interact, usually with the lightest of handshakes, but what appears to have happened on Saturday is that City's Gerhard Struber initially offered then withdrew his hand from Millwall boss Alex Neil.

Did Neil say something inappropriate to Struber that upset him? We'll never know, but next thing City's Jason Knight, on the bench for the last half hour of the game, confronted Neil who fell to the ground and then all hell broke loose as players and coaching staff from both sides engaged in two separate brawls that lasted longer than they should have done.

Hands were certainly raised before peacemakers on both sides stepped in to quell the melee and everyone disappeared off down the tunnel.

There will be repercussions, I am sure, as the football authorities certainly don't like this sort of thing, which sullies the game's brand. What form that takes remains to be seen as the referee was notably absent, as I saw it, so it will be trial by TV as there were plenty of cameras viewing the spectacle plus there are many videos captured by fans on their phones offering a different perspective which have been posted on social media.

If you are going to be benevolent about City's part in this then you could say that what happens shows a level of togetherness in the squad, with Knight acting in the way he did to kick it all off as a reaction to his boss being disrespected.

I don't somehow think the FA will see it like that. It really all boils down to a lack of discipline in terms of restraining emotions in the heat of the moment. I have seen games played far more aggressively than on Saturday without things boiling over in the manner they did.

As far as the match action is concerned, City dropped out of the play-off zone in this congested league table and the result means they have only won two of their last seven games.

They are not playing badly but where do they strengthen in January? The defence is fourth when it comes to conceding goals and in attack only six teams have scored more, which suggests the need for a striker remains but is not acute.

If City do sign a striker will they play second string to [Emil] Riis, and if that is the case then at least two from Saturday's trio of strikers on the bench [Fally Mayulu, Sinclair Armstrong & Harry Cornick] should be loaned out or buyers found if at all possible.

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Image source, Shutterstock

Bristol City head coach Gerhard Struber blamed poor officiating for the huge post-match melee with Millwall.

Referee Ed Duckworth's decision to rule out a late equaliser for the Robins for offside had a "domino effect" which caused the touchline fracas between the two benches, the Austrian claimed.

"Only the referee has something against this goal with offside. We realised very quickly it was not offside," he told BBC Radio Bristol:.

"We could hear the coaching group from Millwall have something to say about it. In the end there was a little bit too much emotion from both sides.

"Sometimes the emotion goes over and we have to accept that.

"This is something we don't want to see but the kick-off was an outstanding wrong decision from the referee. They have a big responsibility to make the right decision.

"This is not normal and we don't want to see a picture like that but it is crystal clear that sometimes the emotion goes over.

"No-one knows in the whole stadium why he gave offside. In the end it was something that had a really big domino effect."

This is sixth against third in the Championship (15:00 GMT) with both sides looking to consolidate their place in the promotion race.

Bristol City have three of their past four home matches while Millwall head west with their last away win coming on October 18 at QPR.

• Bristol City have won three of their past four league games against Millwall (L1), more than they had in their previous 14 (W2 D5 L7).

• Millwall have won four of their past six away league games against Bristol City (L2) but did lose this exact fixture 4-3 last season.

• No side have kept more clean sheets in the Championship this season than Bristol City (7), though they have kept more away from home (4) than they have at Ashton Gate (3).

• Nine wins and 31 points from 18 games is Millwall's best start to a league season since 2008-09 in League One (11 wins, 36 points), while it is their best in the second tier since 2001-02 (9 wins, 31 points).

• Having been unbeaten in their first six away league games this season (W3 D3), Millwall have lost their past two on the road by an aggregate score of 7-1.

Image source, Shutterstock

Mark Sykes says he has not been offered a new deal to stay with Bristol City beyond the end of this season.

The 28-year-old midfielder signed a 12-month extension with the Robins in February and has made 19 appearances, scoring two goals, this season so far.

"Hopefully in the next couple of weeks, couple of months, something can happen but where we stand now, I haven't heard anything from the club and I've been offered nothing," Sykes told BBC Radio Bristol.

"As far as I know, I've got six months left and I'll work as hard as I can, every game's important and keep cracking on, get my head down, keep going."

Sykes joined the club in 2022 from Oxford and said he was "loving it" playing under head coach Gerhard Struber, his third boss at the club after Nigel Pearson and Liam Manning.

"A fresh face, fresh voice, new ideas - it's relevant that we're a different team this year and that stems from the manager, what he wants us as players to replicate from his ideas and I think we're doing a good job," Sykes said.

"If anything we're a little bit like [we were] under Nigel Pearson, front foot, aggressive, wanted to get on to the ball - not just 45, 50, 60 minutes, it's 90 minutes he wants us to press."

David Pottier
Fan writer

Image source, Shutterstock

The next five games will, in my opinion, define Bristol City's season as we near the halfway point of the Championship campaign.

The squad will be stretched to the limit and if, by the time we play Millwall for the second time in the month on 29 December, we are still in the top six then we can consider ourselves genuine play-off contenders.

We are currently four points better off than at the same stage last season and, if we replicated our form of the last 28 games, that would put us on 72 points - just enough to scrape into the play-offs after we got there in the last campaign with a record low of 68 points.

That feat in 2024-25 was only achieved due to outstanding home form from January to Easter - on the road we are rubbish, winning just one of the past 14 away from Ashton Gate.

There are no easy games in this division, as evidenced by Oxford's win over Ipswich on Friday, and whilst we may be inconsistent with a decidedly mediocre two wins in our last six, Stoke, who are in fourth, have lost three of their last four.

Only Coventry, 10 points clear at the top, are showing any level of consistency and must be odds-on for a return to the top flight for the first time in a quarter of a century - still well short of City's 45 years!

So, to the task at hand - how many points in the next five games? I'm looking for eight, which would put us on 37 at the halfway stage and, if you extrapolate that to the end of the season, gives us 74 points and almost certain play-off qualification.

I have deliberately not given a game-by-game prediction as games we should win we sometimes lose and vice versa. Eight points from 15 is two wins, two draws and one loss. Three wins and two losses is better, but I'm trying to be realistic.

Perhaps I should have extended this analysis to include the fixtures between Christmas and New Year so that it became eight games in 27 days - we have the return against Millwall at The Den on 29 December then home games against Pompey (1 January) and Preston (4 January)?

If we are still very much in the mix once the window opens then all eyes will be on the owners as to whether they will go for it with signings, be that loans, new players or offering better terms to the likes of Anis Mehmeti, Zak Vyner and Mark Sykes.

Should we fall away though, I am sorry to say that the likely inflow of funds from the Antoine Semenyo profit will be used to offset the ongoing operating losses which continue to be in the range £15m-£20m.

It is likely that the results for the financial year to 30 June, 2025, will be published within weeks and I'm predicting a loss at the mid-point of the range quoted.

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Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber said his side produced their best opening 30 minutes of the season as they secured a 1-0 win at Portsmouth.

Anis Mehmeti's 17th-minute header earned just a second victory in six games which lifted the Robins into sixth place.

Struber told BBC Radio Bristol: "We prepared a really good atmosphere for ourselves today. We go into the game with a completely different understanding from Wrexham.

"To pick up points here in this stadium you have to come at a really good level performance-wise and the boys did that.

"I would say, yes, it was the best opening 30 minutes this season. I know it is really difficult how we deal with the atmosphere but it was on a really high level from them and I am really pleased with how we did it.

"To be here in the end you need every single player and we needed Radek [Vitek].

"Of course this is part of the game here and we needed every single one. In the end we defended our goal with everything we had in the tank.

"A really big win and a massive win for our confidence."

Image source, Shutterstock

Bristol City defender Ross McCrorie said his aim is to be in Scotland's squad for next summer's World Cup after the country secured qualification earlier this month.

McCrorie had to withdraw from the national team for their World Cup qualifiers against Greece and Denmark due to a knee "niggle".

The 27-year-old made his international debut in summer of 2024 in a friendly against Gibraltar but has not featured since.

"I was chuffed to get in the squad but I had a slight niggle in my knee and we felt at Bristol it was better for me to stay and made sure I get that sorted and take the inflammation out of my knee because we've got a whole load of games coming up," McCrorie told BBC Radio Bristol.

McCrorie has started all but two of Bristol City's 17 Championship matches this season and said he is targeting a place in Steve Clarke's side for next summer's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

"I aim to be in the World Cup squad, I feel as if I'm good enough, I've showed I'm good enough, the target is to get picked," he added.

"I should be in it for the way I've been playing so hopefully I can get there."

Image source, Opta

Portsmouth return to Fratton Park for the visit of Bristol City on Saturday lunchtime (12:30 GMT) under increasing pressure.

Depending on Oxford United's result against Ipswich on Friday and Sheffield United's at Leicester on Saturday lunchtime, John Mousinho's men could be in the relegation zone by 15:00 GMT on Saturday.

Wednesday night's 3-0 reverse at Bramall Lane was a fifth defeat in Pompey's past seven games, from which they have earned just four points, though those did come in their two previous home games.

The inconsistent Robins slipped to seventh courtesy of Wednesday night's 2-0 defeat at Wrexham, their third in five games, but Gerhard Struber's side could return to the top four, temporarily at least, with a win here.

• After winning three consecutive league games against Bristol City between March 1991 and April 1992, Portsmouth have since won just two of their 14 against the Robins (D7 L5).

• Bristol City have failed to win any of their past three away league games against Portsmouth (D1 L2), failing to score on their previous two visits.

• Portsmouth are looking to win successive home league games for the first time since March, following their 3-1 victory over Millwall.

• Bristol City have won three of their past four weekend matches in the Championship (L1), keeping a clean sheet in all three victories. The other game in this run was a 5-1 defeat away to Stoke, however.

• Bristol City's Anis Mehmeti only has more goals in the Football League against Plymouth Argyle (5) than Portsmouth (3), while he has four goal involvements in his past three league games against them (3 goals, 1 assist).