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Championship | Gameweek 34

Feb 22, 2022 at 7.45pm UK

Ashton Gate

Bristol City
1 - 2
Coventry

Martin (62')
Semenyo (59')

FT(HT: 0-1)

Maatsen (25'), Gyokeres (89')
O'Hare (39'), Hyam (59'), Dabo (88')

Preview: Bristol City vs. Coventry City - prediction, team news, lineups

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 20 February 2022

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Championship clash between Bristol City and Coventry City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Coventry City will square off against Bristol City on Tuesday evening, sitting just three points adrift of the Championship playoff places.

Meanwhile, on the back of a superb win over Middlesbrough at the weekend, 16th-placed Bristol City have now won four successive home matches.

Match preview

Bristol City's Andreas Weimann celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on February 13, 2022 © Reuters

Throughout the majority of 2021, Bristol City could not get over the line as far as wins at Ashton Gate were concerned, leaving them reliant on their away form.

The tables have turned since the end of October, with Saturday's 2-1 victory against Middlesbrough their seventh success in 10 matches since October 31.

In the long term, Nigel Pearson is still battling to keep his job in the dugout, but collecting 13 points from their most recent nine fixtures has kept things ticking over.

Matt Crooks's last-minute goal prevented Bristol City from recording their first clean sheet in 12 matches, although Pearson will take the positives from the recent improvements in that area of the pitch.

Still, even if the Robins do possess the fifth-best attacking record in the division, they are still only three goals short of having the worst defensive record.

Coventry City manager Mark Robins on February 5, 2022 © Reuters

After the defeat at Cardiff City, Coventry manager Mark Robins acknowledged that his Coventry side were only outsiders to secure a playoff spot at the end of the season.

However, Saturday's late win over Barnsley was Coventry's fourth win in eight matches, a good enough return to leave some of their rivals looking over the shoulders.

Needing a last-gasp goal to overcome the bottom side in the division was not ideal, but Robins will only care about the gap to the top six standing at three points.

Coventry also have a relatively favourable triple-header coming up, although they meet Bristol City having won just four of their 15 away fixtures this campaign.

Bristol City Championship form:

Coventry City Championship form:

Coventry City form (all competitions):

Team News

Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson on November 28, 2021 © Reuters

Bristol City boss Pearson has suggested that he will rest Joe Williams for this contest, a move which will likely result in a recall for Zak Vyner.

With George Tanner, Matty James and Andy King all out of contention, the rest of the side may remain the same, although Cameron Pring may replace Sam Bell in the wing-back areas.

Despite the quick turnaround, Robins is unlikely to make too many alterations to his Coventry XI.

If changes are made, they will most likely occur in the wing-back areas with Fankaty Dabo and Jake Bidwell both well rested from the weekend.

Martyn Waghorn is likely to keep his spot in attack ahead of Fabio Tavares, who make an impression on his first substitute outing in the division at the weekend.

Gustavo Hamer is available again after serving a two-game suspension.

Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Kalas, Vyner, Klose; Dasilva, Massengo, Scott, Pring; Weimann; Martin, Semenyo

Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Moore; Hyam, McFadzean, Clarke-Slater; Dabo, Sheaf, Hamer, Bidwell; O'Hare; Gyokeres, Waghorn

SM words green background

We say: Bristol City 1-2 Coventry City

Given the level of their result at the weekend, Pearson and Bristol City will be confident of another three points. However, Coventry's extra desire could shine through in this contest, leading us to predict a narrow victory for the visitors.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Coventry City win with a probability of 43.93%. A win for Bristol City had a probability of 29.83% and a draw had a probability of 26.2%.

The most likely scoreline for a Coventry City win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.02%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.94%) and 0-2 (7.9%). The likeliest Bristol City win was 1-0 (8.71%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.47%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with an 8.9% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 1-2 win for Coventry City in this match and our data analysis correctly predicted the win for Coventry City.