Bristol City Championship Odds: A dip expected for the Robins

Bristol City were last season's surprise package in the Championship as the Robins finished in the top six, qualifying for the play-offs. They were easily defeated by Sheffield United, though, and to make matters worse, Liam Manning left his post as head coach for the same role at Norwich City.

Gerhard Struber is the new man in the dugout at Ashton Gate and has a lot to live up to but with the increased competition set for the second tier this term, a play-off push looks difficult. Below you can find out how I predict this season will go for the Robins using Bristol City's Championship Odds.

The 2024/25 campaign was a strange one in the Championship. You had Leeds United, Burnley and Sheffield United who were all a cut above the rest in the regular season, while then past Sunderland in the top six, the rest of the division was a free-for-all.

I don't think Bristol City were by any means fantastic last year, they just found consistency when it mattered to guarantee their place in the play-offs. It would be deemed hard to replicate again this year even if Manning were still in charge, let alone with a new man at the helm.

In Struber they have a coach who has tasted English football before with Barnsley, which was not particularly impressive, but after recent experience at Red Bull Salzburg and Koln, perhaps he is better prepared for the task of the second tier.

Championship Odds

Transfer Business:

In: Emil Riis Jakobsen (free, Preston North End), Joe Lumley (Southampton, free), Adam Randell (undisclosed, Plymouth Argyle), Yu Hirakawa (undisclosed, Machida Zelvia) and Radek Vitek (loan, Manchester United).

Out: Taylor Gardner-Hickman (£1.5m, Birmingham City), Nahki Wells (free, Luton Town), Kal Naismith (free, Luton Town), Ayman Benarous (free, Plymouth Argyle), Marcus McGuane (undisclosed, Huddersfield Town) and Stefan Bajic (released).

Bristol City have by no means had the most exciting transfer window so far but there have been some eye-catching arrivals. One of them is Emil Riis Jakobsen, who has hit double figures for goals in two of the past four Championship seasons. He could be a big loss for Preston but a huge gain for the Robins, who needed to replace Nahki Wells' goals (10 last year).

Yu Hirakawa is the latest Japanese talent to land in England's second tier, with this market becoming much more appealing on these shores in recent years. He's a winger with promise and someone the Robins are hoping can help keep them on an upward trajectory.

Key Player: Jason Knight

New additions are of course beneficial but the best thing Bristol City can do this season is keep hold of their most prized assets. And for me, their number one is midfielder Jason Knight.

The Irishman is about to start his third term as a Robin and he continues to improve, while also establishing himself as one of the classiest operators in the Championship at 24 years of age.

He was pivotal to Manning last year, as he will be under Struber for the upcoming campaign. He dabbles with a couple of goals and assists here and there (three and six respectively in 2024/25), but his main role is to make the team tick, and he does it so well.

Knight's pass success rate in the league last term was 82.9%, showing just how important he is to his side in the middle of the park.

Prediction: 13th

I think Bristol City will be set for a return to normality which for them is being back in mid-table, not enough to challenge for the top six, but with no real concern about going down.

Losing Manning was critical for this placing as Struber still has much to prove in this league. They do have some talented players, though, so a play-off push cannot be written off, I just think with the quality of the teams coming down and coming up, the top-six race will be much more challenging than it was in 2024/25.

Football Odds

The Robins' home form was brilliant last term, losing just three times in the regular season while picking up 13 wins out of 23. They ranked fourth in the home table, with only the sides who finished in the top three boasting better records on home turf.

Maintaining that without Manning will be tricky, so I think a slide is to be expected, and that will leave them with a comfortable mid-table finish.

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