Bristol City vs Fulham. Sky Bet Championship.
Ashton GateAttendance23,796.
Watch live on Sky Sports Football from midday on Saturday; kick-off is at 12.30pm
Saturday 7 March 2020 13:42, UK
Bristol City face Fulham in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Football.
Bristol City goalkeeper Daniel Bentley is likely to miss out again when they face Fulham in Saturday's Sky Bet Championship clash. Niki Maenpaa will deputise again and look to build on his maiden league appearance of the season against Millwall.
Aberdeen loanee Zak Vyner is back in full contact training but the club are taking a cautious approach with his shoulder injury. Marley Watkins is also back in training having been absent since January due to a calf tear. Benik Afobe has returned to training after the devastating anterior cruciate ligament injury which he sustained in September causing him to miss the majority of the Championship season. Frank Fielding, Shaun Williams and Ben Thompson remain unavailable.
Fulham may need to shuffle their defence around as former Robins full-back Joe Bryan limped off in the ninth minute against Preston due to a suspected hamstring injury. Josh Onomah will not be available after being ruled out for six weeks following knee surgery in February.
Fellow midfielder Harrison Reed is back in training and hoping for a first appearance since picking up an injury against Reading on New Year's Day. Alfie Mawson (unspecified) and Maxime Le Marchand (back) are both expected to miss out again.
Bristol City come into this game without a win in almost a month. They drew 1-1 with Millwall last weekend, but were beaten by Huddersfield, West Brom and Leeds in the previous three, scoring just once and conceding six.
Fulham, meanwhile, are searching for a third straight league victory. Those have been against Preston and Swansea, both at Craven Cottage, while they have taken five points from their last three away trips.
Just 10 games remain in the Sky Bet Championship and these two sides are right in the mix for promotion to the top flight. Though they have faltered recently, the Robins could move into the top six with victory, while Fulham could increase the pressure on current top two Leeds and West Brom should they take the three points.
But if the hosts do take it, the Cottagers could get dragged right back into the play-off picture, which becomes a whole lot more complex, with nine teams still jostling for just four places in what remains of the season. An interesting afternoon awaits.
Bristol City have won five of their last seven matches against Fulham in all competitions (W5 D1 L1).
Fulham are unbeaten in their last four away league games against Bristol City (W3 D1) since a 5-1 defeat in April 1990.
Bristol City have taken just four points from their last six Championship games (W1 D1 L4) and are winless in their last four league games (D1 L3).
Fulham have won just two of their last nine away games in all competitions (D4 L3), drawing their last two 1-1 away at Millwall and Derby.
Since the start of December, only Hull City (six) have lost more home Championship games than Bristol City (five).
Among players to appear in at least 500 minutes in the Championship this season, Fulham's Aboubakar Kamara has the best minutes per goal/assist ratio in the division, scoring four goals and assisting four in just 808 minutes (one goal/assist every 101 minutes).
Bristol City can't buy a win at the minute, although they did manage a draw at Millwall last time out and did perform an awful lot better than in recent weeks.
Fulham have the chance to get a win in the early game at Ashton Gate and pile a little bit of pressure on the top two. It will be tight, but I think they will just get over the line.
David Prutton predicts: 0-1 (7/1 with Sky Bet)