Bristol City vs Burnley Prediction: Robins can secure shut-out

Bristol City are in sparkling form right now in the Championship having only lost one of their last 10 matches. Next up they host a misfiring Burnley at Ashton Gate (12:30, Sky Sports+) knowing that three points will take them right up to the top six and a play-off finish now looks like a realistic possibility for the Robins. 

Burnley meanwhile are struggling for goals - more on that later - so read on for my Bristol City vs Burnley prediction, featuring team news and betting tips. 

Team News

George Earthy spent some time away with England’s U21s over the international break and that experience should have served him well as he returns to his club side. He started on the right in the win over Norwich and Manning is likely to name a very similar XI after such a strong performance. 

Having switched between a back three and four fairly fluidly, it still feels like Bristol City get the best out of their attacking players in a 3-4-2-1 system, so I’d expect Nahki Wells to lead the line again, supported by Max Bird and either Anis Mehmeti or Yu Hirakawa. 

Luke McNally is a rock at the heart of the defence and while captain Jason Knight missed Ireland’s defeat to England through suspension, he should return here. Another boost for Bristol City will be the return of Rob Dickie, who served his one-match suspension against Norwich and is back in contention. He should start. 

Football Odds

Meanwhile, Burnley boss Scott Parker is still searching for a way to end his team’s goalscoring woes. He still has an awful lot of injuries to contend with, as Lyle Foster, Nathan Redmond, Mike Tresor and Aaron Ramsey all remain out, although there is some hope that the quartet could see action before the end of the year. 

For now, Zian Flemming is set to lead the line again, while Jaidon Anthony and Luca Koleosho provide the width. Josh Cullen and Josh Brownhill will continue in the centre of the park as the Clarets search for a big performance on the road. 

Bristol City vs Burnley Odds

Bristol City are priced at 7/4 to win this game, while Burnley are priced at 6/4. That gives the away side a win probability of 40%. A draw is priced at 2/1, over 2.5 goals is 6/5 and BTTS is 10/11. Wells is the favourite to open the scoring at 13/2.

Away team under 0.5 goals @ 2/1

Two picks along the same lines here, but my first selection is for Burnley to fail to score. I don’t trust Parker to get his side firing and recently they’ve been pretty awful in front of goal. They needed a late penalty against Swansea to get the win in their last outing, but they’ve only scored two in their last five games in total. 

For a team and a squad that has the quality to be at the top of the table, that sets alarm bells ringing in my head. I like Flemming as a forward but clearly there is a lack of cohesion and confidence in the final third for the Clarets right now. The absence of Foster is being felt and they only sit ninth in the xG table compared to fourth in the actual table. 

I can see their poor goalscoring run continuing here, especially with Dickie strengthening a Bristol City defence that managed to keep a clean sheet at Carrow Road - against a Norwich outfit that hadn’t lost at home in over a year. More misery expected for Parker's Clarets.

Bristol City to beat Burnley to nil @ 100/30

One defeat in 10, and that came in the 98th minute at home to Sheffield United once Dickie had been sent off, tells you all you need to know about Manning and Bristol City right now. They are flying, and in my eyes, it won’t be long until they leapfrog the Clarets and disrupt the top six. 

There’s so much to like about the Robins, and Wells is looking threatening every time he plays, so I’m more than happy to back them to win this game to nil. That Norwich win has set the tone for what could be an incredibly positive season at Ashton Gate.

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