BRISTOL CITY v SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
Football: England: FA Cup 3rd Rnd
Saturday 8th January 2011 – Kickoff 3pm
It’s another Championship v League One tie that I turn my attention to as Bristol City take on Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup 3rd round at Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon.
Bristol City find themselves in the lower half of the league due to their inconsistency, and along with some patchy away performances. However, in their last match they earned a point at Loftus Road when they drew 2-2 with QPR and this will no doubt give them confidence going into this cup tie.
The Robins are currently on an eight match unbeaten run at Ashton Gate which has included five straight wins over Reading 1-0, Leicester City 2-0, Sheffield United 3-0, Derby County 2-0 & Cardiff City 3-0. You’ll also notice that all these wins were also accompanied with clean sheets. Their home record in the league stands at 5-4-4 18/16 which is a vast improvement as they had only one home win under their belt in the first eight matches!
Hats off to their defence who have conceded only 3 goals in their last eight home matches.
At the business end, striker Brett Pitman (8 goals, 1 assist) is their leading scorer, but they also possess a fair amount of firepower with ex-Ipswich Town striker Jonathan Stead (6 goals, 4 assists), midfielder Albert Adomah (3 goals, 6 assists) and Scottish striker David Clarkson (3 goals, 1 assist) to his name.
Visitors Sheffield Wednesday are on a poor run of form away from home at the moment with The Owls winless on the road in three matches now; losing 1-2 at Swindon Town, 1-5 at Exeter City and 0-1 at Huddersfield Town. In fact it’s just one win in their last five away which was a 4-1 win at MK Dons back in November.
The Owls currently occupy the last play-off place as it stands in League One, and again they may not field their strongest side with one eye on promotion back up to the Championship. Their away record stands at 4-1-6 18/15, with striker Neil Mellor (6 goals, 2 assists) heading the scoring charts, but ex-Birmingham City striker Clinton Morrison (5 goals, 2 assists), Tommy Miller (4 goals, 3 assists) and experienced midfielder Gary Teale (1 goal, 6 assists) have all chipped in.
Wednesday beat Southport 5-2 away in order to meet Bristol City.
Head-to-head: Bristol City have lost just twice to Sheffield Wednesday in their last ten meetings.
The Verdict: The Robins’ good form at home puts them in the box seat for this clash, while The Owls may just have their priorities fixed on promotion at this point of time – Bristol City 1-0.
Main Pick: Bristol City @ 2.10 with Pinnacle Sports looks a decent price for a Championship side at home
