Bristol City vs Leicester City: After being knocked off their Championship perch, an ailing Leicester City look to revive their title bid against Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Friday lunchtime.
The Foxes – also suffering from financial penalties – went into the international break on the back of FA Cup elimination at the hands of Chelsea, while the Robins were beaten 2-0 by West Bromwich Albion.
Bristol City vs Leicester City: Match Preview
The two-week break from domestic football came at arguably the most opportune time for Liam Manning’s Bristol City, who suffered their fifth defeat in six Championship matches at The Hawthorns on March 16 to further dent any wafer-thin play-off hopes.
After managing to end their four-game losing streak with a 1-0 home win over Swansea City six days ago, the Robins clipped their wings and hit the ground running against West Brom, who won courtesy of Jade Wallace and a Tom Fellows effort.
Bristol City should write some on-field headlines between now and the end of the season, as Manning’s men languish in mid-table obscurity in 14th place, 14 points adrift of the play-off positions but a healthy eight points clear of the relegation zone.
The Robins can look over their shoulders if performances continue in the same disappointing vein, though, and despite producing the goods at Ashton Gate when Swansea visited a few weeks ago, they failed to find the back of the net in four. Their previous five home matches before that.
However, the Bristol City faithful can take solace in a positive Easter omen, as their side have lost one of their last eight Good Friday contests – losing 2-0 to Stoke City in 2021 – and their visitors are certainly not the same formidable force they once were.
Only Enzo Maresca and co know whether the threat of a serious financial penalty can be blamed for Leicester’s woes, but with just nine games remaining in the second-tier promotion, a top-two finish that was set in stone is no longer certain. Falling fox
Since Valentine’s Day gone, Maresca’s men have not been feeling the love in the Championship with just four points from their last five games, leaving Leeds United top of the heap and relegating the Foxes to runners-up position. Goal difference, which Ipswich Town – just one point worse – also has their eye on.
Leicester still have the safety net of a game in the hands of the Whites and Tractor Boys, but they have now become the latest club to feel the wrath of the Premier League for alleged profiteering and breaches of sustainability rules, and have also been placed under a register. Banned by the EFL.
Amid fears of potential points deductions, Leicester have launched legal proceedings against both governing bodies, leaving Maresca with an unenviable task to keep his players focused solely on football as they bid to reclaim their rightful place at the top of the Championship pile this is very important for their team.
Matters in the second tier are what Leicester will need to focus on for the next few months after their 4-2 FA Cup quarter-final loss to Chelsea, but they remain the division’s best-performing away team and have won their last three league games. Match vs Bristol City, keeping three clean sheets in tow.
Bristol City vs Leicester City: Team News
Bristol fans may finally get a glimpse of Ayman Benares in senior action in the near future, as the injury-plagued midfielder recently turned up for the Under-21s as he enters the final stages of his recovery from a hamstring injury on the game time.
Benares is expected to continue building his fitness levels with the youth team for now, although Sam Bell (hamstring), Rob Atkinson (hamstring) and Kal Naismith (calf) are all set to miss Friday’s game.
However, Manning confirmed that midfield pair Matty James and Joe Williams should be in contention for their return against Leicester, despite no fresh injury concerns among their international legions.
Meanwhile, Leicester boss Maresca will have to reshuffle his rearguard due to Callum Doyle’s suspension – the on-loan Manchester City man received a straight red card in the cup defeat to Chelsea and will sit out a mischievous move at Ashton Gate.
James Justine should be a direct swap for Doyle in the backline, but Maresca could still have an injury triple to make the trip to Bristol, as none of Jamie Vardy, Ricardo Pereira or Denis Pratt have been ruled out of Friday’s contest so far.
However, regular hamstring injury Casey McAteer is expected to remain on the sidelines for a while longer, but Maresca sees no reason to make major changes after his side went toe-to-toe with Chelsea for 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge.
Bristol City Probable Starting Lineup: (Bristol City vs Leicester City)
O’Leary; Tanner, Weiner, Dickey, Pring; Sykes, King, Gardner-Hickman, Sutley; Knight; Conway.
Leicester City’s Probable Starting Lineup: (Bristol City vs Leicester City)
Hermansen; Chowdhury, Fays, Vestergaard, Justin; Dewsbury-Hall, Winks, Ndidi; Fatauwu, daka, mavididi.
We say: Bristol City 0-2 Leicester City
Bristol City vs Leicester City: Both Manning and Maresca should welcome the international break with open arms amid their side’s on-field struggles, but two weeks may not be enough to solve the Robins’ attacking crisis at home.
Now squaring up to the division’s best-performing away team – and the way they lost against Chelsea was extremely unfortunate – Good Friday shouldn’t end well for the hosts as Leicester return to winning ways, and top the table.
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