Preview: Bristol City vs Preston North End - prediction, team news, lineups

Bristol City welcome Preston North End to Ashton Gate as the two sides meet in the Championship on Sunday afternoon.

The Robins began 2026 with a bang after a 5-0 demolition of Portsmouth on New Year’s Day, while Paul Heckingbottom’s men also impressed with a convincing 3-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.

Match preview

After ending 2025 with a disappointing defeat away to Millwall, Gerhard Struber would have been keen to see an immediate response from his Bristol City side, and they delivered in style.

A goal-of-the-season contender from Adam Randell got them off to a brilliant start before goals from Anis Mehmeti, Scott Twine and a Sinclair Armstrong brace ensured a perfect day at Ashton Gate.

The win for the Robins was their 11th in the league this season, which, with six draws and eight losses, leaves them eighth on 39 points.

In a typically congested Championship, the Robins find themselves just four points off third place, and a second consecutive victory could lift the south-west club back into the playoff positions.

As for Preston North End, they also started the year with an emphatic win of their own, beating Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 to continue their impressive form.

The result extended a run that has seen Heckingbottom's men lose just once in their last nine league outings, a run that has lifted them into the top six.

However, one area Heckingbottom’s side will be keen to address is their tendency to draw matches, with 10 stalemates already this season, the joint-most in the Championship, which could yet prove costly in the playoff race.

With that said, they currently sit sixth in the league table, a significant improvement on last season when they came close to relegation.

Bristol City have improved on their notoriously bad record against Preston North End, losing just once in their last 10 meetings, a record they will be keen to extend on the weekend.

Bristol City Championship form:

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Preston North End Championship form:

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Team News

The injury crisis at Ashton Gate has been much talked about, but they have started to welcome back several first-team players over the last few weeks.

They will, however, be without Fally Mayulu, Radek Vitek, Luke McNally, Max Bird, Mark Sykes and Joe Williams.

Sam Morsy, who has reportedly been training with the club for several weeks already, was confirmed as Struber’s first signing of the January transfer window and could make his Robins debut on Sunday.

Armstrong did not start on New Year's Day, but it will be hard for Struber to look past his efforts and not reward the Irish international with a start.

Preston come into this one without Jamal Lewis after the full-back was forced off shortly after coming on against Sheffield Wednesday with a hamstring injury.

Lewis Dobbin, who missed the final two games of the calendar year, returned in style with a goal on New Year’s Day and is expected to lead the line once again.

Bristol City possible starting lineup:

O'Leary; Tanner, Vyner, Atkinson; McCroie, Knight, Randell, N. Borges; Twine, Riis, Mehmeti

Preston North End possible starting lineup:

Iversen; Storey, Lindsay, Offiah; Valentin, McCann, Whiteman, Small; Devine; Dobbin, Jebbison

We say: Bristol City 2-1 Preston North End

Bristol City began the New Year with their biggest win of the season. With home advantage once again, we expect the Robins to edge a competitive encounter and continue their strong recent record against Preston North End.

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