Bristol City vs Norwich City; Sky Bet Championship
Bristol City vs Norwich City. Sky Bet Championship.
Ashton GateAttendance21,282.
Bristol City v Norwich preview
Friday 12 January 2018 13:18, UK
Bristol City have no new injury worries for their Sky Bet Championship clash with Norwich at Ashton Gate.
Lee Johnson's squad had a demanding 90 minutes in the Carabao Cup semi-final at Manchester City on Tuesday, but the Robins have reported a clean bill of health from that game.
New signing Liam Walsh, who made his debut as a substitute at the Etihad Stadium, could figure should Johnson decide to make a couple of changes. Famara Diedhiou, who has been out since the end of October with knee trouble, has stepped up his recovery but is not ready to return yet.
Norwich make the trip without attacking midfielder Alex Pritchard. Pritchard looks set to be sold to Premier League club Huddersfield and the deal is expected to be completed before the trip to Ashton Gate.
Harrison Reed and Marco Stiepermann could return against the promotion hopefuls after missing the FA Cup draw with Chelsea. Reed has been troubled by a hip injury while Stiepermann is suffering from a groin complaint.
Opta stats
Bristol City are winless in five previous league matches against Norwich (D2 L3), since a 2-1 win in February 2009 in which Lee Johnson featured for the Robins.
The Canaries have won two of their last nine league visits to Ashton Gate (D2 L5), most recently winning 3-0 in October 2010.
Jamie Paterson has had a hand in 12 goals in his last 15 home Championship games (seven goals, five assists).
Norwich haven't kept clean sheets in three consecutive away league matches since October 2010, with one of those clean sheets coming at Ashton Gate.
Bristol City were defeated 5-0 in their last match away at Aston Villa - since Lee Johnson took charge of his first match in March 2013, only two managers have lost more Football League matches by five or more goals than Johnson (3) - David Flitcroft (4) and Steve Davis (5).
James Maddison has been involved in six goals in his last seven Championship starts (three goals, three assists).
Prutton's prediction
Bristol City may have been beaten in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final with Manchester City, but they put in an almighty shift at the Etihad Stadium and deserve a huge amount of credit for their performance.
It's back to business for them in the Sky Bet Championship now, and they're facing a Norwich side who will have half an eye on their trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in their FA Cup replay in midweek. The Robins have lost four on the spin but I'm backing them to end that run here.
David Prutton predicts: 1-0 (13/2 with Sky Bet)
