Bristol City team news as two changes made with Nigel Pearson dropping key man

Nigel Pearson has made two changes to his Bristol City side for the visit of West Bromwich Albion this evening.

The Robins lost 2-1 to Millwall at Ashton Gate on Saturday and in a bid to turn their fortunes around, he has opted to make a change in personnel. This is the first of two away matches this week with a visit to Reading to come on Saturday.

Matty James and Nahki Wells come in for Andi Weimann and Tommy Conway, in a change in midfield and attack. James had been missing for the past few matches after undergoing a procedure for a groin injury but is now back and available for selection.

Weimann had started all of City’s Championship matches up until this point but has now dropped to the bench after a run of games without scoring or assisting. The move is likely to see Alex Scott move into the attacking midfielder role, providing support for the strike partnership of Antoine Semenyo and Nahki Wells.

Max O’Leary has been preferred over club captain Daniel Bentley in between the sticks whilst it’s the same defence as Saturday with Timm Klose in the centre of a back three where he is supported on either side by Zak Vyner and Rob Atkinson.

James, who captains the team this evening, takes his place alongside Joe WIlliams who is proving his ability to play two matches in a week with Scott in the advanced role. Mark Sykes and Jay Dasilva are the two wing-backs who will be keen to get forward as well as provide defensive cover for the centre-backs.

George Tanner is amongst the substitutes along with Tomas Kalas, Andy King and Chris Martin. Conway and Weimann hope that their reduced role will make them fresh enough to make an impact off of the bench.

There is no place in the squad for either Han-Noah Massengo or Stefan Bajic. The French pair played for the Under-21’s in their win over QPR earlier in the day. Despite playing a part in City’s goal on Saturday, Cameron Pring is not included in the 18-day match-day squad.

Bristol City (3-5-2): Max O’Leary; Zak Vyner, Timm Klose, Robert Atkinson; Mark Sykes, Matty James (C), Joe Williams, Alex Scott, Jay Dasilva; Antoine Semenyo and Nahki Wells.