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Bristol City
Championship
Aug 29, 2015 at 3pm UK
 
Burnley logo

1-2

Kodjia (95')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Mee (34'), Keane (40')

Preview: Bristol City vs. Burnley

Sports Mole previews this weekend's Championship meeting between Bristol City and Burnley at Ashton Gate.

Bristol City and Burnley go head to head at Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon, with each looking to build on their first win of the campaign last time out.

A corner appears to have been turned for both after their maiden three-point hauls, but recent history suggests that this game will very much be the visiting side's to lose.


Bristol City

Manager Steve Cotterill of Bristol City applauds the crowd as he walks out for the Sky Bet League One match between Bristol City and Walsall at Ashton Gate on May 3, 2015© Getty Images

Outside hopes of mounting a promotion push looked to be increasingly bleak after City's first three games of the campaign, but a far more positive outlook is now on the horizon.

A battling 2-2 draw against Leeds United, which came after the Robins had found themselves two goals down with one minute of normal time left to play, may just have kick-started their campaign.

That was followed up by the hugely impressive 1-0 win away at Middlesbrough last time out - arguably the result of the season to date - which came as a result of a determined performance from on-loan stopper Ben Hamer in particular.

There is no denying that pressure would slowly start to grow on the newly-promoted side had they failed to get off the mark prior to the international break, yet four points from their last two offers plenty of positives ahead of the visit of Burnley.

City may be heading into the game on the back of a clean sheet against Boro, but Steve Cotterill's charges have shipped as many goals in their last three league games at Ashton Gate as they did in their previous 15 (eight).

Brentford, Leeds and - at the end of last season - Walsall have each profited from some slack Bristol defending at their newly-developed ground.

Cotterill, who spent three years in charge of Burnley earlier in his career, has already made clear that he intends to bring in more new faces before next week's transfer deadline to potentially plug that problem area.

Jonathan Kodjia, Ryan Fredericks, Callum Robinson and Hamer remain the club's only new recruits so far, but a failed £8m move for Andre Gray suggests that more money could be splashed to spearhead an unlikely push for the top six.

Recent form (all competitions): LLLDW


Burnley

Burnley manager Sean Dyche on May 9, 2015© Getty Images

The message from manager Sean Dyche over these past few weeks has been clear - promotion will be extremely tough to achieve, but the squad in place is certainly capable of getting the job done.

Losing players boasting the quality of Danny Ings and Kieran Tripper would be hard for any team to take, particularly one that has just suffered relegation and must contend with the expectation of an instant return.

Only eight of the last 36 teams relegated into the Championship have made an immediate return to the big time - a statistic that Dyche believes simply highlights the size of the task he faces.

The season certainly started in a slow manner; successive draws against Leeds United and Birmingham were followed up by defeat at the hands of fellow promotion chasers Ipswich Town.

A slender win over Brentford last time out lifted a huge weight off Dyche's shoulder, but it was arguably events off the field which helped bring some positivity back to supporters.

Out of the grasp of their weekend opponents, Burnley managed to win the race to sign Brentford striker Gray to bolster their attacking ranks.

Creativity from open play has largely been lacking this term, yet if last season's 18-goal forward can push on in his new surroundings, then there is no reason why the Clarets cannot earn a second promotion in the space of three years come May.

Further new faces are also likely to come in before next Tuesday, including a potential swoop for free agent Joey Barton. Burnley currently find themselves five points off the pace, however, so a positive result this weekend is imperative to turn a mediocre start into a positive one.

Recent form (all competitions): DLDLW


Team News

Andre Gray of Brentford celebrates after scoring to make it 2-1 during the Sky Bet Championship match between Millwall and Brentford at The Den on November 8, 2014© Getty Images

City keeper Frank Fielding is recovering well from his shoulder injury, but is still a couple of weeks away from a return to training.

Mark Little played 70 minutes on his comeback from an injury of his own at Boro, meaning that he could be in line for successive starts.

The Robins will be without Luke Freeman, who serves the final game of his three-match suspension, as they look to prolong their unbeaten run to a third game.

Club-record signing Gray is expected to start at Ashton Gate - a ground he could very well have been playing at on a permanent basis had he not rejected City's recent approach.

As far as the visiting side are concerned, Dean Marney and Kevin Long are both back in training but unlikely to feature, while Matt Lowton will not make his Clarets debut until after the international break.

Midfielder Fredrik Ulvestad also remains sidelined with the ankle injury that he sustained against Bradford City in pre-season.

Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Hamer; Little, Ayling, Flint, Williams; Bryan, Reid, Pack, Smith; Wilbraham, Kodjia

Burnley possible starting lineup:
Heaton; Mee, Duff, Keane, Darikwa; Boyd, Jones, Arfield, Taylor; Vokes, Gray


Head To Head

Bristol City conceded seven goals across their two meetings with Burnley in 2012-13.

The Clarets have a strong recent record against City, having lost just two of the last eight encounters.

Burnley won both those fixtures two seasons ago, but they have never managed to win three in a row against the Robins.


Video Preview

Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Bristol City 1-2 Burnley

Both sides will be high in confidence after picking up their first league wins last time out, but if all goes to plan then it should be Burnley - boosted by record signing Gray in attack - who edge this Ashton Gate affair to climb further up the Championship table.



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