Bristol City

Bristol City make the trip to Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday as both sides look to close in on a place in the playoff spots (19:45 GMT).

The two sides are level on points but separated by goal difference on the Championship table, both just four points below West Bromwich Albion in sixth place.

However, neither side registered wins last time out, though the Owls have not lost any of their past three games at Hillsborough.

• Sheffield Wednesday have won just one of their last five league games against Bristol City (D2 L2), though that sole victory did come in this exact fixture last season (2-1).

• Bristol City have failed to win any of their last seven away league games against Sheffield Wednesday (D2 L5), netting just two goals in total across their last five league visits to Hillsborough.

• Since a 6-2 defeat to Watford in November, Sheffield Wednesday have lost just one of their last seven home league games (W3 D3) and are unbeaten in their previous three league outings at Hillsborough (W2 D1).

• Bristol City haven't won on the road in the league during midweek since Boxing Day 2023 at Watford (4-1), drawing four and losing two of their last six such matches.

• Bristol City's Scott Twine has been involved in four goals in his four previous Football League appearances against Sheffield Wednesday (3 goals, 1 assist), netting on both previous occasions at Hillsborough (2 goals).

Image source, PA Media

Bristol City centre-back Luke McNally has done "extremely well" since joining the club said manager Liam Manning.

The 25-year-old moved to Ashton Gate on transfer deadline day last August from Burnley, signing on a four-year deal.

He has since become a staple of the Robins' back line, featuring in 22 out of 27 Championship matches so far and playing the full 90 minutes in all but two games.

McNally has won 5.82 duels on average per 90 minutes he has played this season, to put him 31st among all defenders in the Championship who have clocked 1,000 minutes or more, according to stats from Opta.

"It was a challenging start for him purely from the fact I think he'd not played any games pre-season and then you're asking him to settle into a brand new team with new relationships," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"When I look at it now he's done extremely well.

"Still got loads to improve, loads to keep working on, loads we'll keep working with, but, at the minute, I've been really pleased with his level."

Image source, Rex Features

They may be just five points outside the Championship play-offs, but Bristol City have not won on their travels in the league since November.

Boss Liam Manning reflected on the latest defeat on the road - 1-0 at Coventry on Saturday, to BBC Radio Bristol:

"It was a frustrating afternoon, and a difficult game. The pitch played terribly, but in a nutshell, we didn't take our chances and they took theirs.

"I thought we had the better opportunities, we found it difficult quality-wise at times, but you have to try and still come away with something.

"There are a lot of games still to go, and it is up to us to hit the levels we are capable of. There was nothing wrong with the team giving everything today, but the quality was not where it needed to be.

"We have to adapt in these scenarios to find a way and execute - we gave away a bit of a soft goal and that was the frustration."

Listen to Manning's full interview on BBC Sounds

Coventry will seek to extend their unbeaten streak at home to seven games as they welcome Bristol City on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Sky Blues have registered back-to-back clean sheets at home whereas the Robins have kept one in eight games on the road and only ended a three-match losing streak on their travels with a point at basement boys Plymouth in their most recent away game.

• Coventry City are unbeaten across their past four home league games against Bristol City (W2 D2), since a 3-1 loss in October 2014 in League One.

• Bristol City are unbeaten across their last five league games against Coventry (W1 D4), last enjoying a longer run against the Sky Blues between October 1979 and February 2010 (seven games).

• Coventry City are unbeaten in five Championship home matches since Mark Robins departed in November (Rhys Carr - D1, Frank Lampard – W2 D2), their longest run since February last year (9).

• Bristol City have won three of their last four league games (D1), as many victories as they managed across their previous 12 (W3 D4 L5).

• Bristol City's Scott Twine has either scored (3) or assisted (2) in five of his last seven Championship appearances, assisting in his last two in succession (v Plymouth and Derby).

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City midfielder Marcus McGuane has been ruled out for the Robins' trip to Coventry City on Saturday with concussion.

The 25-year-old needed to be substituted during their FA Cup defeat to Wolves on the weekend due to a head injury. Defender Rob Dickie has returned to training and will be available after missing the tie through illness.

Meanwhile, midfielder Ayman Benarous is "heading in the right direction" as he recovers from successive long-term anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries which have led to hamstring issues.

Boss Liam Manning expects the 21-year-old - whose last appearance for the first team was in April 2022 - to be building up to fitness over the next three or four weeks.

Under-21 midfielder Adam Murphy, however, is not expected to be part of the senior team until next season after a series of injuries has kept him sidelined.

"I think from the volume of games he's played, even at 21's level, it's a big jump," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol, in reference to Murphy. "He needs to concentrate on maintaining fitness and playing games."

Image source, AFP

Bristol City head coach Liam Manning says the Robins have "work to do" after their FA Cup third round defeat by Wolves on Saturday, but that the loss provided a "great lesson" for his squad.

"Conceding the goals early on made it quite a challenge. I thought that in terms of intent, the press was there, but naturally when you're playing against good players and you're half a yard off or you arrive a little bit late, you get opened up - that happened a couple of times," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

On Scott Twine's long-range free-kick that gave City a fighting chance heading into the interval, he continued: "It's not the first time we've seen it.

"[Twine] is in a good spot, he needs to make sure he takes that into the league now and we bounce into Coventry, and that we all take the lessons from today.

"It's quite clear we've got a load of work to do, we're under no illusions. Even when you're performing well and winning games it's a constant process.

"You have to get better, you have to turn up and I think today's a good lesson in terms of being a little bit too respectful early on. Second half we showed a bit more belief, a bit more of our identity."

The Robins were inches from a late equaliser when another Twine free-kick pinged off the head of Wolves goalscorer Rayan Ait-Nouri and struck the underside of his own crossbar.

Praising his side's fight, Manning said: "The second half I thought we didn't give up a huge amount and kind of took control of the game and the ball without really creating a lot.

"We've got levels we can go to as a group and when you step on the pitch you need a healthy arrogance, or whatever you want to call it, that belief has to be there and I definitely thought we showed more of that in the second half.

"We've got a young group, lads at varying stages of their careers with different experiences. We have to take the lessons like we do every single week. We reflect and review every game, then roll it into next week."

Manning also confirmed that Robins midfielder Marcus McGuane had taken a "knock to the head" and would need to be assessed after being withdrawn midway through the second half.

BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton has made his predictions for all 32 FA Cup third round games and given his verdict on who will make it into round four.

For this week's matches he is up against actor and musician Billy Bob Thornton, who is a Liverpool fan.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2 - Bristol City to win on penalties

Bristol City have picked up a bit of form of late, with three wins and a draw since Christmas.

They did well in the FA Cup last season, knocking out West Ham and then taking Nottingham Forest to a replay, and I fancy them to cause a bit of a shock here too.

Vitor Pereira made a good start as Wolves boss, but they were well beaten by Forest on Monday. He will want to get some momentum back, but how strong does he go?

I suspect he will give some of his fringe players a go, which will make an awkward tie even harder.

Billy's prediction: 1-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves have won both of their previous FA Cup meetings with Bristol City, winning 1-0 in February 1973 (fourth round) and 1-0 again in February 2019 (fifth round).

Image source, Rex Features

Defender Rob Dickie is a major doubt for Bristol City's FA Cup third-round tie at home to Wolves on Saturday, according to head coach Liam Manning.

The 28-year-old played in last weekend's 1-0 Championship win over Derby County despite suffering from illness and has not trained this week.

"Rob's been ill and been in bed since the (Derby) game so huge credit to him [for playing] - he was ill before the game," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"I was texting him on Monday and he was in bed, quite ill. The doctor has been to see him which speaks volumes for him and what people are willing to do for the team."

Should Dickie not be deemed fit, Saturday's game at Ashton Gate could see a return for defender Kal Naismith, who has not featured since early November because of injury, while midfielder Mark Sykes is also available after shaking a hamstring issue.

"Both [Naismith and Sykes] are in contention for the weekend," added Manning. "Even if we make tweaks and changes to the team we're still doing it to try to win the game."

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves goalkeeper Dan Bentley says he is looking forward to "catching up" with his former team-mates when he returns to Ashton Gate in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

Bentley made more than 100 appearances for the Robins and captained the side before leaving in January 2023 for the Premier League outfit.

"I got married in the summer and Pringy [Cameron Pring] was at the wedding as well - someone I still speak to regularly I spoke to him a couple of days ago," Bentley told BBC Radio Bristol's Sound of the City.

"Unfortunately he got injured in the previous game didn't he, but we'll still make sure we make time to say hello and swap shirts and stuff.

"There's still countless lads there that I always got on really well with who I will be looking forward to catching up with.

"Staff as well - real stalwarts of that club who help the club tick over.

"One of the Wolves lads Matt Doherty said to me the other day, 'are you going to get booed when you go back to Bristol City?' and I was like 'I'm not entirely sure'. I don't think so - maybe a little bit tongue in cheek.

"Whatever they decide to do is fine - it doesn't change my affection towards them."

Listen to Sound of the City every Monday at 18:00-19:00 GMT on BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Sounds.

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City left-back Cameron Pring is set to be out for a "few weeks" because of a hamstring injury.

Pring went off in the 42nd minute of the Robins' 2-2 draw with Plymouth on New Year's Day.

The 26-year-old has made 21 appearances for the Robins this season and already missed a number of weeks during October after suffering a leg laceration.

"[It is] going to be a few weeks we think, [we're] just going to let things settle before we get the exact details on it," Bristol City head coach Liam Manning told BBC Radio Bristol before kick-off of their game against Derby.

"We're not going to see him for a little while."