Bristol City

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Bristol City "should have the confidence" to say they are in the race for the Championship play-offs, midfielder Joe Williams says.

The Robins beat Blackburn 2-1 to move up to eighth in the table, just three points away from Middlesbrough in sixth.

City have not reached the top six since the 2007-08 season, when they finished fourth in the table and were beaten by Hull in the Wembley final.

"We back ourselves, definitely," Williams told BBC Radio Bristol.

"We should have the confidence to say 'yeah, we are in this and we should be in this'.

"We're actually disappointed to not be higher than we are, to be honest, because we think we've dropped some points where we could have gained.

"It's a long way away if we can stay in and around that pack and give ourselves a chance, we'll be delighted by it."

Williams, who made his second appearance from the bench in the win against Blackburn after returning from injury, said if the team had been offered their current position at the start of the season they would be happy.

"I think we'd take this position now that we're in," he said.

Liam Manning praised his Bristol City players for putting the team above themselves after their 2-1 Championship over Blackburn Rovers.

Manning cited midfielder Joe Williams as a prime example after he put aside his disappointment at not starting by coming off the bench to make a major impact and set up fellow substitute Nahki Wells' winning goal.

"Across the course of the season you need everybody," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

"I know Joe is frustrated at not starting and not getting minutes but the best way you can respond is by doing what he did today.

"I thought he was excellent today and won us the game ultimately.

"That's something we have to keep, have to harness that, we have to make sure everyone puts the team ahead of themselves which is difficult at times because everybody, naturally wants to do well themselves.

"I was sat in my office for a good few hours staring at the magnets on the wall, scratching my head [about picking the team].

"For me it's a sign of progress. It's really good the headaches we have got. When you look at the depth, the options the quality its massive that we can bring people on to raise the level."

Wolves have rejected an opening offer from Millwall for midfielder Luke Cundle, who is also wanted by Swansea City and Bristol City. (Express and Star), external

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Bristol City will welcome Blackburn Rovers to Ashton Gate on Saturday (15:00 GMT) for a game with big implications in the Championship play-off race.

The 9th-placed Robins are four points behind Rovers, who are sixth and occupying the final play-off spot.

• City have lost one of their past seven home league games against Blackburn Rovers (W4 D2 L1), winning this fixture last season 5-0 – the Robins' biggest-ever victory in this fixture's history.

• Blackburn won the reverse fixture 3-0 this season – they last did the league double over City in 2019-20, while they have never done so without conceding.

• City have won each of their past three home league games without conceding a goal. The Robins have not won four in succession at Ashton Gate whilst keeping a clean sheet in each since January 2004.

• Each of Blackburn's past six away league games have either been 1-0 (W3 D1 L2) or 1-1. They last scored more than once on the road against Cardiff in November (3-1), and last conceded more than once against Plymouth in October (1-2).

• City's Nahki Wells has scored more league goals against Blackburn in his Football League career than he has against any other opponent (9).

Aaron Wilbraham
BBC Radio Bristol summariser and former Bristol City striker

Image source, PA Media

Bristol City looked composed all over the field but it's in that final third that they need a little better decision-making and someone to be a little bit calmer and not force things.

There's still simple, quick passes that can be made to get in - and when they did that a few times against Sheffield Wednesday they got in every time.

But it's just being a little bit more consistent with those final-third entries which will create more chances to get more goals and the results.

Because of the way they play football they can beat any team in the division, definitely.

I just think it's being more consistent, and keeping the soft goals out, and defending well, and trying to get clean sheets, being a bit more resolute.

A couple more clean sheets, a few more chances put away, they can definitely climb into those play-offs. They're in a great position.

Millwall boss Alex Neil is preparing a bid for 22-year-old Wolves midfielder Luke Cundle, who has also been linked with Preston North End, Swansea City and Bristol City. (South London Press, external)

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Bristol City boss Liam Manning spoke to BBC Radio Bristol after the Robins claimed a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

"I'm probably slightly frustrated," Manning said.

"First half, there wasn't much in it - we lacked a bit of belief and purpose. But, on a tough pitch, it was a fairly even first half.

"We spoke about our mindset at half-time; to play forward, run forward, and we scored a fantastic goal, and then got hit by a sucker-punch.

"But I thought we responded terrifically. There was some outstanding stuff from us on a tough pitch. I really enjoyed our second half.

"We wanted to grab an opportunity and take it to the opposition. Not many teams will dominate like we did in the second half and we could have nearly nicked it at the end.

"Ultimately, we've come away, we've taken a point and come away with something.

"I thought we became more dominant as the game wore on. We took the legs out of them. There are lots of positives to take, but things we can also work on."

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

The two sides are level on points but separated by goal difference in the Championship table, both 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.

• Wednesday have won one of their past five league games against Bristol City (W1 D2 L2), though that victory did come in this exact fixture last season (2-1).

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

• Since a 6-2 defeat by Watford in November, Wednesday have lost one of their past seven home league games (W3 D3 L1) and are unbeaten in their previous three league outings at Hillsborough (W2 D1).

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

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

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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."

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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.