Bristol City face Preston on the final day of the season, with a Championship play-off spot well within their grasp

Bristol City’s date with destiny arrives on Saturday 3 May as they play host to Preston North End in what promises to be a nail-biting season finale at Ashton Gate.

The Robins enter the game with their destiny in their own hands after recording 67 points from their opening 45 games, leaving them one point clear of sixth placed Coventry City and seventh place Millwall, two points clear of eighth placed Blackburn Rovers and three points clear of Middlesbrough in ninth.

A victory for Liam Manning’s side will ensure that they compete in the Championship play-offs for the first time since 2008 when Gary Johnson was in the dugout. On that occasion the team ironically secured their status in the top six by beating Preston 3-0 at home on the last day of the season and fans will hope that history can repeat itself.

In 2008, the Robins got within touching distance of the Premier League after beating Crystal Palace 4-2 over two legs in the semi-final before falling short against Hull City at Wembley after a thunderous volley from Dean Windass secured the win for Phil Brown’s side.

The Cider Army will hope to go one better under Manning this season, but must first get over the line in the top six race against a Preston team languishing in 20th position and still needing another victory to secure their second-tier status for another year.

Bristol City fans will demand improvements after a lacklustre 4-0 loss away at Championship leaders Leeds United. But can we expect many changes at Ashton Gate at the weekend?

Goalkeeper and defence

Goalkeeper Max O’Leary is expected to remain between the posts after starting every league match in the Championship this season. The Bath-born shot-stopper is constantly improving with each passing campaign and was one of the few to come out with credit in the disappointing Leeds United defeat at Elland Road.

A familiar three-man defensive centre back pairing of Robert Dickie, Zak Vyner and George Tanner are expected to provide protection to O’Leary’s goal and will be tasked with nullifying the threat of Preston’s offensive players. They’ve been on the winning side in five of the last six home games and will hope to improve on that impressive streak at Aston Gate this weekend against a Preston team fighting for safety.

In the wing-back positions, it’s likely that Hayden Roberts will keep his place on the right hand side with Ross McCrorie, the match-winning goalscorer against Sunderland, playing on the left. The pair will both be expected to provide width to the team and plenty of service to the lone striker that Liam Manning selects for the season finale.

Midfield and attack

Club captain Jason Knight has been crucial throughout the campaign and has played every minute of every game this term. He’s expected to play alongside Joe Williams, who takes the place of Marcus McGuane.

Max Bird and George Earthy are expected to keep their place in the central attacking midfield role to provide a creative spark while Nakhi Wells after struggling to make an impact against Leeds could be dropped in place of Anis Mehmeti, who will hope to score for the first time since March after a nine-game goal drought.

Meanwhile, Nakhi Wells and Sinclair Armstrong will be waiting in the wings on the sub bench and could still play a crucial role in influencing proceedings at Ashton Gate.

Bristol City predicted XI: O’Leary, Dickie, Vyner, Tanner, McCorie, Knight, Williams, Roberts, Earthy, Bird, Mehmeti.