Preview: Bristol City vs Stoke City - prediction, team news, lineups

In what could be Roy Hodgson’s final game in management, Bristol City welcome Stoke City to Ashton Gate on the final day of the Championship season.

The Robins had shown signs of improvement following the former Liverpool and England boss’s return after 44 years away, but they now head into this clash winless in four after a 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City last weekend, while the Potters have extended their own poor run to five matches without a win following a 3-1 home loss to Portsmouth, inspired by an Adrian Segecic hat-trick.

Match preview

Set to take charge of the 1,275th match of his managerial career, Hodgson appears set to bring the curtain down this weekend as Bristol City close out their campaign against Stoke City.

The Robins began the 2025-26 season under Gerhard Struber, who was tasked with building on last year’s playoff finish, but a dip in form after the turn of the year saw them slip out of the top six and into midtable.

Struber’s departure at the end of March came as a surprise, with Hodgson brought in to steady the ship, and he has since overseen a mixed run of two wins, two draws and two defeats to lift the side to 13th.

Their latest setback came at St Andrew’s, where goals from Phil Neumann and Jhon Solis handed Birmingham a 2-1 victory, further highlighting the inconsistency that has defined Bristol City’s run-in.

With little left to play for, attention has already begun to shift towards next season, although uncertainty remains over who will be in charge.

As for the visiting side, Stoke City, they have also had a poor end to the season that has seen any playoff hopes drift away in recent months.

On New Year’s Day, Mark Robins’s side sat just three points off the playoff places and looked capable of mounting a serious push for their best Championship finish since 2008, but a prolonged dip in form has since seen them fall to 16th heading into the final day.

A win here would take them to 58 points, their highest total since the 2020-21 season, but still well short of their pre-season expectations.

If the Potters are to build on this campaign and mount a more serious promotion push next season, improving their away form will be essential.

After 22 league matches on the road, Robins’ side have collected just 22 points, a return bettered by only six teams, which has played a major role in their lowly league position.

Bristol City Championship form:

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Stoke City Championship form:

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Team News

Bristol City’s injury issues have been a persistent problem throughout the campaign, although they did come through last weekend’s match without any fresh concerns.

Max Bird, Luke McNally and Rob Atkinson remain sidelined and are not expected to return until next season, but there is a boost with Rob Dickie back in contention after returning to the bench following a long-term absence.

As for the visitors, they also came away from their last encounter unscathed but travel to Bristol without a number of first team players.

Aaron Cresswell and Bosun Lawal are both set to miss out again after being forced off in recent weeks, while Viktor Johansson, Junior Tchamadeu, Ben Gibson, Ben Wilmot, Maksym Talovierov and Tomas Rigo are also unavailable.

Bristol City possible starting lineup:

Vitek; McCrorie, Eile, Dickie, Pring; Knight, Randell; Bell, Horvat, Twine; Riis

Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Simkin; Agina, Phillips, Otegbayo, Bocat; Gallagher, Seko, Pearson, Thomas; Bozenik, Cisse

We say: Bristol City 4-2 Stoke City

Final days of the season can often offer up an array of unusual scorelines and we expect something similar here.

Despite their inconsistent home form, we expect Bristol City to end the season on a positive note and give Hodgson a fitting send-off with an entertaining victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.