- Bristol City have lost just two of their last 14 Championship home games
- Stoke have not won any of their last seven Championship away fixtures
- Recommended bet: Bristol City to win

Bristol City tasted defeat for the first time in five Championship matches when losing 1-0 at Leicester last weekend, but they will be looking to start another productive run when hosting struggling Stoke at Ashton Gate on Saturday.

Twelve points from eight games is a reasonable return for the Robins, who were 4-1 winners over Plymouth in their last home fixture.

City manager Nigel Pearson can be reasonably content with the start his side have made, but the same cannot be said for Stoke counterpart Alex Neil, who is under mounting pressure after presiding over a poor opening to the campaign.

The Potters were booed off after last Sunday's 3-1 loss at home to Hull and on Wednesday they were knocked out of the EFL Cup at Bournemouth.

Team news

Bristol City defender Zak Vyner (knee) missed last weekend's 1-0 loss at Leicester and is not expected to feature against Stoke.

Tommy Conway (hamstring), Ross McCrorie (infection), Rob Atkinson and Ayman Benarous (both knee) complete the list of absentees for the Robins.

Tyrese Campbell (hamstring) misses out for Stoke but Andre Vidigal is fit and could start for the first time since August.

Wouter Berger (hamstring) lasted just 34 minutes of last Sunday's 3-1 loss at home to Hull and is unlikely to feature. Ryan Mmaee (hamstring) and Enda Stevens (calf) are also sidelined.

The stats

Inconsistent Bristol City have not achieved back-to-back league wins since February.

However, the Robins are generally strong at Ashton Gate and have lost just two of 14 Championship home games in 2023.

Nigel Pearson's side had gone four games without defeat until last Saturday's 1-0 reverse at Leicester.

Stoke have lost four of their last five Championship fixtures.

And the Potters have gone seven matches without a win on their Championship travels stretching back to last season.

Prediction

Bristol City's push towards the play-off places was dented by their defeat at Leicester last weekend, but they can respond with a victory over fifth-bottom Stoke at Ashton Gate.

Robins manager Pearson was happy to highlight the positives after his team's narrow loss to the table-topping Foxes, but he will be looking for a more proactive performance from his side against a Potters outfit falling well below expectations.

Stoke overhauled their squad this summer with 13 permanent signings and four loans added to their ranks and they were talked up as potential promotion contenders.

However, Potters boss Neil has struggled to work out his best team and results have been generally poor with just seven points accrued from a possible 24.

Stoke have taken just one point from their last five league games and the losing trend continued on Wednesday when they were beaten 2-0 by Premier League Bournemouth in the EFL Cup third round.

Neil's side have fallen behind in each of their last five matches and they might struggle to avoid a slow start against Bristol City, who will be keen to solidify their top-half position.

City have collected four points from their last two home fixtures and look a solid bet to register a fourth league win of the campaign.

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