Marcus Braddock previews Town's trip to Ashton Gate.
This weekend it's the turn of Bristol City to host Shrewsbury Town in the Emirates F.A. Cup, third round. When this game was drawn out of the hat at the start of December, City were in a bit of a purple patch of form and only three defeats all season. Since then their form has dipped considerably, losing five games in seven in the Skybet Championship. Their most recent win was on the 29th December when they beat Luton 3-0 at home but they followed that up with a 4-0 home defeat to Brentford on New Years Day. As if losing 4-0 at home wasn't enough, they also lost defender Ashley Williams after 13 minutes to a red card which means he wont be available this weekend.
Top Scorers
Andreas Weinmann 9
Famara Diedhiou 6
Josh Brownhill 5
Assists
Niclas Eliasson 6
Jack Hunt 5
Matt Taylor 5
Andreas Wiemann 5
Clean Sheets
Five at home and one away.
Stats
City have failed to score in 31% of their games at home this season, or put another way, they've scored in 69% of their home games.
They get stronger as the half progresses with 21 goals scored in the last fifteen minutes of either half.
On average, 2.9 goals have been scored per game at Ashton Gate this season. This includes 1.5 per game from City, which is the same as the average for the Championship.
Referee
John Busby from Oxfordshire. Games this season:24. Yellow cards:95. Red cards:5.
Squad News
Max O'Leary isn't allowed to play against his parent club so Joe Murphy will replace him. Ryan Sears and Callum Lang could be available for selection after injuries.
Summary
This was a game that looked difficult when it was drawn and it looks equally difficult, despite City being in a sticky patch of form. They have quality going through the squad and really should be beating teams like us. Having said that, it's the F.A. Cup 3rd round and there are always upsets. This wouldn't be a major one in the grand scheme of things but anything other than defeat has to be considered an excellent result.