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Championship Playoffs: What Are Bristol City's Chances Of Promotion?
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Championship Playoffs: What Are Bristol City's Chances Of Promotion?

Championship Playoffs: What Are Bristol City's Chances Of Promotion?

Promotion to the Premier League – the biggest prize in English football. Championship clubs battle each year for three designated spots that lead to promotion, money, talent, and fandom for your football club. Due to the creation of parachute payments, the process of being promoted and staying in the Premier League is getting harder. Teams go up, strengthen their squad, come back down, and become a dominant force in the Championship, preventing the already second-tier clubs from having a chance in the race for a promotion spot.

However, in Bristol, one of the largest cities in the country and the largest in the South-West, Premier League football is yet to be hosted. Still, for their biggest current club, Bristol City, the possibility of a promotion to the English promised lands is beginning to look like a possibility. While Leeds and Burnley have already been automatically promoted. The last remaining spot lies in the play-off places. Bristol City are one of the teams, well and truly in the picture when it comes to the playoffs, sitting in 6th place and facing Sheffield United.

But after a phenomenal season, could the Robins secure promotion to the Premier League?

Finishing In The Playoffs

Bristol City had a difficult start to the season, winning just two games in their first nine EFL Championship matches. But the Robins opted to stick with Liam Manning, a young and upcoming English manager at the age of just 39 years old. Now in the present day, that decision has paid off, Manning has led Bristol City to sixth place in the table and a lottery ticket in the Championship Play-off.

The Robins went about their business quietly throughout the season, going on a fantastic run during February and March, picking up 15 points in eight league matches and going seven games unbeaten. During this recent run, City beat teams in the lower half of the table, while also picking up a big win against Middlesbrough and drawing with Sheffield United.

Typically, Manning has his team set up in an aggressive style, matching a similar tactic to Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth, centred around working hard as a team and forcing turnovers high in the opposition's half to create chances. Bristol City are robust, direct, and tough to beat. The Robins per match rank fifth for shots-on-target and seventh for crosses, with Manning’s side also losing just two more games than third-placed Sheffield United.

Midfield Duo

Playing a 3-5-2 system, Bristol City place a greater emphasis on the centre of play and their midfield. Jason Knight and Max Bird are two of the main components in the engine room – key cogs that complement each other’s play-style to drive the Robins forward.

Max Bird joined the club in the summer from Derby County and has been an instant success. The Englishman is firstly comfortable in any midfield role – operating as an attacking, central, or defensive midfielder. Compared to other midfielders and wingers, Bird sits above 61% of players when it comes to touches, chances created, and defensive actions, showcasing his all-around ability. However, Bird’s attacking ability has shone through most, scoring one goal and providing eight assists in 46 Championship appearances.

Bird is the composed figure in the midfield – utilising his technical ability, but his partner-crime Jason Knight, sets the tempo. Also joining from Derby County, Knight has also been in fantastic form this season, scoring three goals and recording six assists in 46 Championship appearances. The Irishman’s tireless play-style is felt across the board in midfield – Knight averaging per 90, 72.1 touches, 1.59 touches in the opposition's box, 1.30 chances created, 6.37 recoveries, and 5.59 duels won. Bristol’s midfield duo has been a huge reason for their recent success, the former derby duo perfectly controlling games and supplying their in-form frontline.

Deep Attacking Options

Goals are the currency in football, and you simply cannot succeed without them. While not scoring in abundance, the striker department is one of Bristol City’s strongest as Anis Mehmeti, Scott Twine, Sinclair Armstrong, and Nahki Wells combine to score City’s goals. Anis Mehmeti leads the scoring charts, having scored 12 goals, with the Albanian primarily being a left winger. Mehmeti is a direct and creative threat, averaging 2.94 shots, 0.42 goals, 1.44 chances created, and 1.37 successful dribbles per 90.

Next up is Nakhi Wells, an experienced and veteran striker, who always has an eye for goal. At the age of 34, Wells has shown that he is still capable of being a striker in a Championship playoff-chasing side, scoring 10 goals in 39 matches. While he may not have the pace and speed of his younger days, the striker has retained his poacher instincts, and to a player like Armstrong, Wells could act as a perfect mentor.

In his second season at the club, Scott Twine has also added goals to his game, hitting the net five times in 35 Championship matches. A set-piece specialist, Twine became an EFL household name after impressing for MK Dons, playing as the central glue between wingers and the striker. Despite adding goals to his game, Twine’s role is primarily a creator, averaging 2.33 chances created per 90, as the Englishman continues to improve as a central attacking midfielder.

The final piece of the attacking puzzle is Irish striker Sinclair Armstrong. Possessing raw and monstrous physicals, Armstrong has the potential to become a top striker. However, after joining from QPR, the 21-year-old has relatively underwhelmed, scoring three goals in 36 league matches. Going into the final games of the season and towards the playoffs, Bristol City’s depth and strength in attack could play a huge role if the club is to make a serious push for promotion.

Sheffield United Match-Up

Coming into the play-offs, it is now or never for Bristol City – they have had a fantastic season, but this is where it matters and where legends could be made. However, in terms of their match-up, Bristol City, on face value, have the toughest task in the play-offs as they face Sheffield United.

Sat 3rd in the table, it looked likely that Sheffield United would be promoted back to the Premier League for large parts of the season, but Chris Wilder’s side fell at the last hurdle as Leeds and Burnley were automatically promoted. The Blades have creativity across the board within their side, with players such as Gustavo Hamer, Callum O’Hare, and Tom Cannon in their ranks – Sheffield United can cause the Robins several problems in attack. But the Blades are also solid at the back, Wilder’s side having the third-best defence in the division, with 36 goals conceded.

In recent weeks, the Blades haven’t been in the best of form as Wilder’s side inconsistently ended the season. Losing three consecutive games to start the month of April, Sheffield United have won twice, lost twice, and drawn once in their last five games. Due to this, Bristol City will fancy their chances, with the team sitting in 6th, potentially facing their opponents while in poor form. Looking back to the two times that these teams have faced each other this season, the last meeting between the sides was a 1-1 draw at Brammal Lane, while in the earlier fixture between the sides, Sheffield United were 2-1 victors thanks to a winner from Harrison Burrows in the 98th minute.

Can Bristol City get promoted?

In the modern day, the gap at the top of the Championship is constantly widening, the teams at the top and middle separated by the quality of players. Leeds, Sheffield United, and Burnley are a level above their competitors in this Championship season, but the Robins have a huge chance in the playoffs, and are playing with somewhat ‘free money’. Playing out of a large city, in a large stadium, promotion to the Premier League would be huge for the club, and if Bristol City were able to avoid relegation in their first season, the sky could be the limit in England’s top-flight.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Josh Wyatt-Jones

Content Writer

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