Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson insists his team must get off to a winning start on home soil when Sunderland visit Ashton Gate this weekend. The Robins went seven home games without a win at the start of last season, and Pearson knows he cannot afford a similar run this season.
A crowd of around 24,000 is expected at Ashton Gate, boosted by a ticket promotion for home fans, while Sunderland were given an allocation of 3,300. "It's important that we get off to a winning start at home," said Pearson. "That's what we are looking for.
"It would be nice to play well and win, but it is important that we win. It's another tough Championship game. There are no easy ones - for those that think that there are, there aren't.
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"We are back in the thick of it. It will be great to be at home and I believe there will be a big crowd, and that's great. It's important that we give our supporters something to get behind."
Bristol City conceded an injury-time goal which condemned them to defeat at Hull City on the opening day of the season, in a game that turned on a controversial penalty that allowed the Tigers to level with a little less than 20 minutes remaining. Sunderland also conceded late in their season-opener against Coventry City at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, although in their case it meant they shared the points with the Sky Blues.
Pearson said: "It will be a very tough game. They opened their account pretty well at home, big crowd at home, very much behind their team, and I think they will be disappointed to concede later in the game.
"We would expect it to be a tough game. They are a team that will attack on transitions and we have got to be aware of that, but the most important aspect for us is to get our own game right.
"I think there were lots of very positive aspects of our performance last week that we need to replicate every time that we play. I thought we were really good last weekend.
"Things didn't go our way for a couple of reasons - it's probably best not to talk too much about that. But performance-wise we were good, and I think that bodes well for the rest of the season."
Pearson says defender Cameron Pring should be available this weekend, while Zak Vyner's fitness will be monitored ahead of the game. Striker Antoine Semenyo, who spent a loan spell at Sunderland in 2020, is not expected to feature as he continues to recover from injury.
"Zak has been ill since the weekend," said Pearson. "He did a light session yesterday and we'll have to monitor him to see whether he is in contention for the weekend. Pringy trained well this week so he comes back into contention, which is good, and Antoine is making progress too."
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