NEWS FLASH: Here is Bristol City’s probable lineup against Leicester City: Nigel Pearson is given alternatives by a sensational ace return.

 

Predicted Bristol City lineup at Leicester City: Nigel Pearson now has choices thanks to Andi Weimann’s comeback
At the King Power Stadium, Bristol City will face favored Leicester City in the Championship.

Nigel Pearson, Andy King, Matty James and Dave Rennie’s respective returns, 3,305 Robins fans on the road, Leicester City’s recent Premier League status, Bristol City ’s fine form; there are numerous reasons why today’s encounter has a “big match” feel about it.

It’s ultimately an occasion to be embraced and while there is undoubtedly a desire for City to extend their unbeaten run in the Championship to a fifth game, all the expectation is on the hosts with Norwich City manager David Wagner anointing them champions elect after they beat the Canaries 2-0 in midweek.

The atmosphere should be fantastic and City are playing at a level where you feel a confidence in the team going into these contests, but at base level this works as a marker to assess the Robins progress and exactly where they can consider themselves in the Championship hierarchy.

They’ve played three top eight sides already this term, plus Norwich in the Carabao Cup, lost two of them, drawing the other two. It’s easy to dismiss the relevance of that given it is only September but these are the teams who have started the season strongly and City can increasingly be considered among that group, although the situation at 5pm could dictate how strongly.

Today’s result won’t define or shape their season but it offers a potential signpost as to what’s possible on the way. Here’s how we think the Robins will line up…

Goalkeeper and defence

It was another game on Tuesday night, similar to Swansea, whereby Max O’Leary was probably a bit annoyed he couldn’t add to his clean sheet tally. There’s not an awful lot he could have done with Adam Randall’s excellent low drive – of course a save was possible but it would have been some stop – but given the Robins domination, a zero in the goals against column would have been nice.

The likelihood is that O’Leary will be a very important player for City today, given Leicester are joint third in the league for shots per game at home (18.7), although – interestingly – their expected goals at the King Power Stadium is a rather paltry 3.3, with only Sheffield Wednesday, QPR and Rotherham United managing fewer.

That being said, a goalkeeper needs to do more than just save shots and it’s a pretty straightforward assumption to make that irrespective of the chances they may or may not create, if O’Leary has a good game with is handling, penalty box presence and distribution, then it’ll go a long way towards City getting a result.

In front of him, it could well be an unchanged back four for a third straight game. Zak Vyner and Kal Naismith were both excellent against Plymouth, as they were in the goalless draw with West Brom, and although there have been a few sloppy mistakes, so far they’ve had the ability to atone for those errors with some athletic recovery defending.

They may not get the chance to do so against Kelechi Iheanacho or Jamie Vardy, so require another spike in performance but Rob Dickie won’t be returning to the centre of defence just yet.

Cam Pring has been humming along nicely down the left flank and has strung together some good performances so should keep Haydon Roberts out of the picture once again but the 22-year-old did make a telling impact off the bench on Tuesday and remains an excellent option for Pearson.

Right-back is the only area for debate given Taylor Gardner-Hickman’s decent cameo off the bench against the Pilgrims, albeit in midfield. He would have started at right-back for the visit of the Baggies if not for being ineligible but while people may have a personal preference, the reality is George Tanner has done enough to retain his place.

Yes, he was a little loose in the build-up to Randall’s goal and teams are seeming to target that area of the field but Pearson’s maxim has always been, if you do enough in the shirt, then you keep hold of it.

It would be a harsh decision to take him out of the starting XI based on his last two performances, irrespective of Gardner-Hickman’s qualities.

Midfield

City now have an established but still-evolving trio in the middle of the park in Matty James, Joe Williams and Jason Knight and unless somebody has sustained a late injury in training (which we’re not aware of) then it’ll be as you were in that area of the field.

What was key about Tuesday night, of course, wasn’t just the margin and manner of victory, it was how it enabled Pearson to make changes on 60 and 70 minutes to manage the minutes across his team, most notably in midfield.

Williams, who we all know has experienced hamstring issues, and Knight, who’s played a lot of football for club and country, didn’t need to finish the game and that extra 20 and 30 minutes rest should put them in place to be refreshed and ready for today.

As mentioned, Gardner-Hickman showed he could bring value to that area of the pitch, either as a No8 or in the more advanced playmaker position occupied by Knight but he’s going to have to bide his time as a starter.

What is likely is that with Leicester likely to dominate the ball (average 64.9 per cent possession at home), City’s midfield are going to have to get through an awful lot of groundwork to maintain their structure, and try and keep them at bay. There will be a lot of miles on the clock towards the end of the contest, and Gardner-Hickman and Andy King are sure to come into the equation when tired legs could show.

Andi Weimann probably also falls under that topic with the Austrian returning to the squad after a month out with a heel issue but the club captain also provides a potential change off the bench if the game is getting away from the Robins.

Pearson will be mindful of the problem flaring up again, as it did so at Hull in desperately disappointing circumstances for the club captain, but removing that concern, Weimann provides extra legs and explosiveness in attacking midfield and down the right flank, should it be required. His leadership towards the end of a game could also prove to be an important asset, should the game require it.

Attack

It goes without saying that everyone, or at least 9-10 of the team will have to be close to maximum for City to get something out of this game and you can make the point – as we have done – that O’Leary, the centre-backs and midfield area are the most important areas to ensure a positive result.

However, for the Robins to win the match, which shouldn’t be an outlandish consideration given how they’re playing and that Leicester haven’t been that good at home, then Sam Bell, Nahki Wells and Mark Sykes all need to have big games.

There’s not much point discussing the make-up of the front three because that trio are now established up there having started the last four league games together and with each performance they look to be growing in confidence, chemistry and cohesion.

Those balls from the right that zip across the penalty area into Bell at the far post are becoming an increasingly regular occurrence, as are the interchanges between City’s left-sided attacker and Wells.

All three have the pace to trouble what looks to be a slow-ish Leicetsrer backline, particularly in the middle, not dissimilar to West Brom in that sense. How much of the ball they will get is a different question, but while supply may be limited, it will have to be treated with the utmost importance whenever the Robins do get an opportunity to attack.

Harry Cornick did all he could to bang on the door with his fine goal in midweek but he’ll remain a bench option, alongside the potential x-factor of Ephraim Yeboah who Leicester probably won’t know a huge amount about but in every appearance he’s made so far this season he’s looked a threat.