Bristol City hope to follow up their sublime Boxing Day performance when they face Birmingham City at St Andrew's on Friday (December 29) night. The Robins won 4-1 against Watford and were good value for their victory, and will now hope to inflict more pain on to Wayne Rooney's reign.
Andi Weimann scored his 50th goal for Bristol City after Cameron Pring and Mark Sykes had scored in between Wesley Hoedt's own goal. Liam Manning's side are now just a point off of the play-offs and have won their last three matches. A win coupled with defeats for Hull City and Sunderland would mean that City would go into the top six ahead of their New Year's Day fixture with Millwall at Ashton Gate.
The previous meeting between the two sides was a 2-0 win for Birmingham, in which Koji Miyoshi and Lukas Jutkiewicz scored. Neither club have the same manager having made changes in the dugout with John Eustace overseeing the win against Nigel Pearson back in August. Bristol City's record isn't the greatest against Friday's opponents and they have just two wins in 10 games against the men from the Midlands. Bristol City's last away win at St Andrew's was in March 2021 in which they won 3-1 thanks to goals from Kasey Palmer, Antoine Semenyo and Callum O'Dowda.
The injury situation at City hasn't changed too much, and it's likely that they will be working with the same squad from now until their FA Cup tie against West Ham on Sunday, January 7. Some players aren't too far away, whilst others have suffered setbacks in their recovery from injuries. Here's the latest injury and team news from both the Bristol City and Birmingham City camps.
1. Lee Buchanan - out
He was hospitalised by an injury sustained against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday. Concussion protcol prevents Buchanan from contact sport for at least 10 days. Photo: Getty Images
2. Haydon Roberts - out
Suffered an ankle injury against Ipswich Town in October, and hasn't played since. Began rehabilitation in mid-November. Photo: Getty Images
3. Krystian Bielik - out
Suspended for three games after a red card against Plymouth. The defeat against Stoke City was the first game he served of his ban, and will miss the game against Bristol City, as well as the New Year's Day trip to Leeds United. Photo: Getty Images
4. Andy King - out
Nursing a hamstring injury. Could return soon after a social media update. Photo: Getty Images