Bristol City's toughest test is second to last, as they face recently crowned champions Burnley in front of a crowd of over 23,000 at Ashton Gate this weekend.
Vincent Kompany's side beat local rivals Blackburn Rovers in midweek to take the Championship title to Turf Moor, where they will be presented with the trophy on the final day. The Clarets may have to wait to celebrate with the trophy, but they are likely to get a guard of honour from the Robins this weekend, as a way of showing their respect for their opponents.
City only lost 2-1 to the champions in Lancashire in September, and despite everything wrapped up for Burnley, there is still something to play for with City, who will want to finish as high as possible. Pearson's highest finish recorded at the club is 17th, and there will be a desire to finish higher than that to show progression ahead of a big summer in store for the club.
As for team selection, there is a feeling amongst supporters that star boy Alex Scott could depart this summer. He was crowned Young Player of the Year, and has a growing list of admirers with Liverpool the latest Premier League team to be linked with him. An extended stay in the West Country hasn't been ruled out, and City hold all the cards on Scott's future with a contract until 2025, whilst the player is loving life with City.
It could be the final home game for some though with Jay Dasilva and Tomas Kalas both out-of-contract at the end of the season, as well as Andy King. Pearson has admitted he wants to keep King, but hasn't discussed publicly what will happen with Dasilva or Kalas. This could be one of two chances to persuade Pearson that they deserve new deals, albeit on a lower wage.
Here’s our predicted Bristol City line-up to face Burnley at Ashton Gate this Saturday:
1. GK: Max O’Leary
This season has been about O’Leary, he’s displaced Dan Bentley and now has a long-term future here. He’ll be testing himself against the Championships top strikers. Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images
2. RB: George Tanner
Tanner gets to test himself against World Cup semi-finalist Anass Zaroury. Photo: Naomi Baker/Getty Images
3. CB: Zak Vyner
Picked out by Nigel Pearson as someone who has had his ‘best season’. Vyner will relish the challenge of playing against the leagues best team. Photo: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images
4. CB: Kal Naismith
Is it another outing at LCB for Naisy? He played there last week and looked comfortable on the ball. Photo: Alex Burstow/Getty Images