Bristol City play host to Preston North End on Wednesday evening looking to end a run of five matches without success in the Championship.
In sharp contrast, the visitors to Ashton Gate have prevailed in their most recent two fixtures, moving into eighth position in the standings.
Match preview
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For all of the attention that has been placed on the lack of goals occurring in Preston fixtures this season, Ryan Lowe would have always known that something would eventually change given the competitiveness in the second tier.
That moment came on Saturday as Preston responded to conceding an early goal at high-flying Norwich City to record an impressive 3-2 victory at Carrow Road.
Although Preston conceded a third of their goals for the campaign in East Anglia, they almost doubled their output in the final third, Emil Riis Jakobsen netting a double after spending the latter weeks of the transfer window being linked with a transfer elsewhere.
The Dane has now scored three times in his last two outings, and the 24-year-old's performances in the final third could prove to be the difference between mid-table and a promotion push.
Preston can move into the playoff spots with victory on Wednesday, albeit having played a game more than many of the other teams in the division.
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There was a time not so long ago when Bristol City appeared on course to challenge for top spot having put together a run of four wins and two draws from six outings.
Since then, however, just one point has been recorded from a possible 15, the most recent of four defeats during that period coming at Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon.
Losing 3-0 to a Blues side that have struggled for goals this season could hurt Nigel Pearson's team in the long run, the Robins now down in 18th spot with the second-worst defensive record in the league.
Having previously scored in 11 matches in succession, Bristol City have now failed to score in their last two outings and netted just twice in four games.
Team News
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Pearson will inevitably make changes to his Bristol City XI, potentially bringing in Timm Klose for his first start of the season after his appearance on the substitutes' bench at the weekend.
That would allow Andy King to move into a more familiar role of central midfield, possibly in place of Han-Noah Massengo, while George Tanner is an option at right wing-back.
Antoine Semenyo may also be recalled in the final third, while Joe Williams is available again after serving a one-match suspension.
Lowe will make changes to his Preston side with defender Jordan Storey missing out due to accumulating five yellow cards.
Andrew Hughes will come into the team as a straight replacement, and further alterations could also be made with a sickness bug affecting the team selection at the weekend.
Troy Parrott suffered a hamstring injury at Carrow Road, likely leading to Sean Maguire retaining his spot in attack.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Vyner, Klose, Atkinson; Tanner, King, Scott, Dasilva; Semenyo, Wells, Weimann
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Hughes, Lindsay, Cunningham; Browne, McCann, Whiteman, Fernandez; Brady; Maguire, Riis
We say: Bristol City 1-2 Preston North End
With Bristol City now looking devoid of confidence and dropping down the table, Pearson knows that it will take a significant change in fortunes to overcome an improving Preston side. All things considered, we cannot see that occurring on Wednesday night, leading us to predict a hard-fought win for the visitors.
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Top tip
Darren Plant
