Bristol City

Bristol City welcome Luton Town, with the hosts having gone four games without a win.

The Robins have lost two and drawn two of their past four games, last winning against Plymouth on 30 November.

Luton come into the trip to Ashton Gate having won two out of the past four and are two points behind their opponents.

• Bristol City have lost two of their last 16 home league games against Luton Town (W8 D6) and won 2-0 in the most recent game at Ashton Gate in August 2022.

• Luton have won eight of their last 11 league games against Bristol City (D1 L2), although both defeats were at Ashton Gate, in 2019-20 and 2022-23.

• Bristol City won 4-1 against Watford on Boxing Day last year but haven't won on December 26 in consecutive years since doing so in 2013 (1-0 vs. Walsall) and 2014 (2-1 vs. Yeovil).

• Luton have won four of their last six league matches on Boxing Day, winning in each of the last two years against Norwich (2-1 in 2022) and Sheffield United (3-2 in 2023).

• Bristol City's Nahki Wells has scored four goals in five Championship starts against Luton, with all four goals coming on home soil (1 with QPR, 3 with Bristol City).

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City head coach Liam Manning has confirmed full-back George Tanner is available to face Luton Town on Thursday following a spell on the sidelines.

The 25-year-old was an unused substitute in the Robins' 2-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday after missing the previous eight league games through injury.

"George can do some minutes," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"Naturally, when you've been out for a little while and you come back you've got to be a little cautious but you also trust in the work that the boys do because they do a lot of conditioning work, so George will be in contention."

However, Manning remained guarded on how far away Bermuda international forward Nahki Wells is from returning to first-team action.

"Nahki's been out on the grass. Hopefully if he responds right we can get him back in the group training on Christmas Day, but again we have to see how he responds to today."

Bristol City manager Liam Manning said his side have to "collectively be better" after they were beaten 2-0 at West Bromwich Albion and dropped a place to 12th in the table.

The Robins now have just one league win in their past seven games and are without a victory in four.

"They were better than us in all areas. And we let in two soft goals," Manning told BBC Sport.

"But all of us collectively have to be better. And I look at myself in that. Did I get it right?

"They're very well organised but we lacked energy and aggression and didn't have the quality to break them down.

"And we need to respond on Boxing Day. We can't afford to drift. We need wins."

Image source, Rex Features

West Bromwich Albion have Grady Diangana back in contention to play against Bristol City on Sunday after missing six games with a calf problem.

The 26-year-old ex-West Ham United winger scored seven times last season and made eight assists as the Baggies reached the Championship play-offs.

But niggling injuries have kept him out of nine of Albion's 21 league games this season - including only six starts.

With five games in 13 days coming up over the festive period, boss Carlos Corberan knows his squad will be fully tested - and wants last season's version of Diangana back.

"Last year Grady was one of our most important players, especially in the last third, with his goal involvement" Corberan told BBC Radio WM.

"He started with a shoulder injury in pre-season and has not had the consistency he needs.

"He has trained this week. Two physical days, two football days. If his reaction is positive, touch wood, hopefully he will be ready for Sunday."

Albion must make one change on the left side as Callum Styles sustained a hamstring issue in Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Watford, but Corberan hopes Diangana's potential return can help the positive Hawthorns momentum going.

Having been top in late September, Albion have slumped to eighth, 13 points off the pace, having won just twice in 15 games - but 10 were draws. And they have at least rediscovered where the goals are at home.

After scoring just two goals in their first seven league games this season, they have now netted twice in each of their three most recent matches at The Hawthorns - 2-2 draws against both Norwich City and Sheffield United and then the fortuitous 2-0 home win over Coventry City.

Bristol City are five points behind the Baggies going into the final round of fixtures this side of Christmas and start the weekend in 11th place.

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City's squad have had a boost with injured right-back George Tanner back in full training before the busy festive period.

Tanner has not played since the start of November, while full-back Ross McCrorie is also nearing his return having not played since October because of a hamstring injury.

Scott Twine, who played 31 minutes in Saturday's draw against QPR after returning from an injury, has also been "building up".

"George Tanner's been back fully training this week, managed to get another week into Ross as well, Twiney is building up so it's been good to be able to get out on the grass and get some work into the lads," manager Liam Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"It's been much better to have those boys back training.

"We're going to need everybody. You need the depth you need to make the changes, you need the options - we saw in the last week how important it is to freshen things up."

However, Sinclair Armstrong will be out for another "couple of weeks" with a hamstring injury that ruled him out of last Saturday's game.

"Nothing major but when you've got such an explosive athlete you have to be careful," Manning said.

After seeing their dozen-match unbeaten streak ended with defeat at Watford last Sunday, West Brom will seek to start a new one when Bristol City visit The Hawthorns this Sunday.

The Baggies could find themselves five points adrift of the play-off places come kick-off while the Robins start the weekend eight places but only five points ahead of 19th-placed Luton.

• West Brom have lost just one of their past eight league games against Bristol City (W5 D2), with each of those five victories coming via a two-goal margin or more.

• Bristol City have lost seven of their past nine away league games against West Brom (W1 D1), conceding an average of 2.7 goals per match across that time.

• West Brom have scored just eight goals across their 10 home league games in the Championship so far this season – the fewest of any side in the competition.

• Bristol City have failed to win any of their last three league games (D2 L1) and could go four without victory for the first time since March 2024 when they lost four matches in succession.

• West Brom's Tom Fellows has recorded seven assists in the Championship so far this season, with only Middlesbrough's Finn Azaz (8) managing more in the competition.

Chris Honor
BBC Radio Bristol summariser and former Bristol City defender

Image source, Rex Features

I'm enjoying some of the football, I thought we were excellent first half against QPR, but, the big question, are Bristol City going to go out and buy a centre forward in the January transfer window? For me they have to.

They have Nahki Wells, who was second pick last year behind Tommy Conway who has now gone. They have gone out and bought two strikers but they are not up to the standard they were possibly expecting.

If we want to progress we need another centre forward, though whether the funds are there I don't know.

We are playing some great football; entertaining, exciting, but in front of goal we miss that clinical edge and we need someone who can score 15, 16, 17 goals a season to take the next step on.

(The QPR goal) was one of those headless blunders which goalkeepers sometimes used to do - come rushing out of goal, completely mis-read his position.

To be fair to Max O'Leary, he shouldn't have been put in that position in the first place. Bristol City were on the counter attack, they've left nobody back, the ball has been cleared into the City half.

Max think he's going to get there first, rushes out, the QPR player gets there first and manages to get the ball into the back of the net from 50 yards.

It was a great finish. It seemed to take an absolute age to hit the back of the net.

Image source, Getty Images

Bristol City striker Fally Mayulu is going to be "important" for the club in the future even though it has "taken him time" to adapt to the Championship, said head coach Liam Manning.

The 22-year-old Frenchman signed this summer from Austrian side Rapid Vienna and has made 11 appearances in the league, scoring two goals in his first two games.

He played just 29 minutes in the past eight games and was an unused substitute in five of them.

"I think it's a big jump up, the intensity of the league. You switch off for a second in the Championship, you're talking two or three metres," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"It's taking a little bit of time. He's massively training better now so he's definitely heading in the right direction."

Manning said the coaching staff have been working with Mayulu on the "psychological" aspect of the game.

"It's thinking quicker, it's seeing the pictures quicker, it's having the composure under pressure. I know the technical stuff is in there," he said.

"I know he won't have the minutes he wants now but I know he's going to be important for us in the future."

Bristol City host QPR at Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon and after contrasting starts to the season, the teams are separated by just five points ahead of kick-off.

The Robins have one win in five while the Rs are unbeaten in five and have kept four straight clean sheets to climb away from the foot of the table.

Quirky one this fixture, eight of the last nine meetings have been won by the away side, with the other game a draw.

• After winning six consecutive league games against QPR between 2018 and 2020, Bristol City have won just two of the past seven against the London side (D1 L4).

• QPR have won each of their past four away league games against Bristol City after failing to win on any of their 10 previous visits (D4 L6).

• Bristol City have lost just two of their past 14 home league games (W7 D5), keeping seven clean sheets in that run, including in their most recent home game against Plymouth (4-0).

• QPR have failed to score in five of their past six away league games (W1 D2 L3), though have kept a clean sheet in three of their past four road games, as many as in the 14 before that.

• Only Plymouth Argyle (18) have had fewer shots on target away from home in the Championship this season than QPR (21).

Image source, Getty Images

Bristol City head coach Liam Manning believes their 1-1 draw at Sunderland on Tuesday night is evidence of the progress his side are making.

The Robins bounced back from their 3-0 defeat by Portsmouth at the weekend to take a point at the Stadium of Light although they did concede an injury-time equaliser to the fourth-placed Black Cats.

"It's a mark of progress for the lads in that we've come up here and we're disappointed not to win," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"The performances are getting more consistent and it's just [about] getting the results with it - the biggest bit is the response to the weekend and leaving it all out there."

City have lost three of their past five Championship games but Manning is hoping the draw at Sunderland is a turning point for them.

"The bare minimum the fans should see is the players giving everything for the shirt and they did that so that's why I can't knock the lads - it's then just the little details that go with it and it's a bit of a soft goal we've conceded," he added.

Bristol City are 11th in the table and host QPR on Saturday.

Image source, Rex Features

Bristol City's all-time appearance holder Louis Carey believes the club has a "growth mindset" under head coach Liam Manning.

Carey left the Robins in 2014 after playing 646 games and spending almost the entirety of his 18-year career at his hometown club.

The 47-year-old was speaking to BBC Radio Bristol's Sound of the City.

"If you were to speak to Liam at the end of the season he'll have loads of learnings and it might be something with regards to the physical-ness, it might be understanding when to play, it might be we're going to focus a little bit more with set plays - like [Mikel] Arteta did [at Arsenal] all of a sudden.

"There's always learning and I think my understanding from people I've spoken to is one, the training is excellent, and two, they are of the growth mindset to learn and improve rather than being stuck in our ways."

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

Image source, PRESSBOX GRAPHICS

Sunderland's 2-1 victory over Stoke City on Saturday ended a six-match winless run in the Championship and keeps them within two points of the automatic promotion places.

The Black Cats are one of four Championship sides yet to beaten at home.

Only six sides have more than Bristol City's three away victories in the Championship this season, a record which has them ninth in the table.

But the Robins have lost their past two away games at Watford and Portsmouth respectively without scoring a goal.

• Sunderland have won just three of their past 17 league games against Bristol City (D8 L6), failing to score on nine separate occasions during that run, including in both of their matches last season.

• Bristol City have lost just one of their last nine away league games against Sunderland (W3 D5), a 2-0 defeat in December 1994.

• Sunderland are unbeaten in five midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (W2 D3), conceding just one goal in this run.

• Bristol City have only won three of their past 18 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) away league games (D4 L11).

• Bristol City's Liam Manning has only lost one of his four managerial league games against Sunderland (W2 D1), a 2-1 defeat with MK Dons in August 2021 in League One.

Image source, PressBox Graphics

Despite seeing successive games postponed at the end of last month, Portsmouth have an opportunity to climb off the foot of the Championship table if they can overcome Bristol City at Fratton Park.

Pompey, who fought out a 2-2 draw at Swansea last weekend - their first game in three weeks - trail both QPR and Hull by two points going into their home meeting with the Robins.

Liam Manning's side, who are 11th in the league, have found consistency elusive but have succeeded in winning three of their last five away games at Middlesbrough, Preston and Norwich.

● Portsmouth have won just one of their last 12 league games against Bristol City (D7 L4), a 3-1 victory in September 2011.

● Bristol City have lost just one of their last six away league games against Portsmouth (W2 D3), keeping four clean sheets across those fixtures.

● Since a 0-0 draw with Sheffield United, Portsmouth haven't kept a clean sheet in their last nine league games (W2 D3 L4), conceding 17 goals in that run.

● Bristol City are looking to win successive league games for the first time since April last season following their 4-0 win over Plymouth last time out.

● Only Norwich (15) have dropped more points from winning positions in the Championship this season than Portsmouth (14), while only Sheffield Wednesday (10) have earned more points from losing positions in the competition this term than Bristol City (9).

Image source, BBC Sport