Two bright, shiny new and exciting signings, familiar faces leaving the club and Manchester City in the FA Cup, a lot has happened this week which has seemed almost like a departure from the regular churn that the Championship can sometimes bring.
But the ability to ever-so slightly detach yourself from the league campaign is probably also a mark of how the Robins are performing at present because if things were going bad, it certainly wouldn’t be so easy to ignore.
Nigel Pearson’s side are seven matches unbeaten in league and cup - yet to lose in 2023 - which is ideal form for a trip to Deepdale where they haven’t won for 12 years. February 5, 2011 was the last time City emerged from this corner of Lancashire with three points as Andy Keogh, Brett Pitman and a David Clarkson double secured a 4-0 win.
That sort of scoreline would very much be welcome and further City’s progress up the Championship standings, although they can’t actually gain any league positions with a win today.
But Pearson’s selection makes for an interesting debate given the increased options at the manager’s disposal coupled with their impressive performances over the last month. Here’s how we see City lining up against Preston North End…
Goalkeeper and defence
It’s very much as you were between the posts for City, as has been the case since October with Max O’Leary the Robins undisputed No1, although Pearson was talking up Nikita Haikin’s performances in training this week so don’t think there isn’t a strong degree of competition just because Dan Bentley is no longer at the club.
With Stefan Bajic starting on loan at Valenciennes, Harvey Wiles-Richards was back in goal for the Under-21s in midweek and he’ll likely fulfil third-choice duties engaging in the warm-ups with coach Pat Mountain, O’Leary and Haikin.
Three-quarters of the defence picks itself, as it should do given the run of form with George Tanner at right-back and Zak Vyner and Rob Atkinson in the middle. Tomas Kalas is fit and available but the Czech Republic international has to earn his place in the team and/or one of the aforementioned trio to give Pearson a reason to take them out of the team.
On the right it’s worth noting that Kane Wilson is inching towards a return after his knee injury sustained in October and could be involved for the Under-21s against Everton on Sunday at the High Performance Centre.
It’s the left-hand side where the debate lies as Jay Dasilva delivered a fine performance against West Brom last weekend but was only back in the team due to Cam Pring’s suspension and given his position at the club has been made pretty clear by City’s willingness to let him leave on deadline day - albeit motivated more by finance than sporting reasons - means surely the latter will return to the starting XI.
Midfield
Much like the defence the midfield unit has been pretty fixed throughout January with Kal Naismith in the holding role and Matty James and Alex Scott in front of him.
Joe Williams is an eternal option, especially away from home, but it’s very difficult to see exactly he would replace unless there was a late injury picked up by somebody.
With Han-Noah Massengo and Dylan Kadji having departed on loan on deadline day, the former to Auxerre for financial reasons, the latter to Swindon Town to aid his development, cover will come in the form of Andy King and Omar Taylor-Clarke who, all of a sudden, has an elevated role in the senior set-up.
We’ll talk about him more fully in the next section but Andi Weimann is also worthy of consideration given the Austrian has trained all week and should be included in the matchday 18 after missing the last four games with a hamstring issue.
Weimann has played in a midfield three before - and did for much of last season with a double pivot behind him - but the way City have lined up so far in 2023, which has allowed Scott to be the most advanced of the three doesn’t seem to lend itself to integrating the 31-year-old. Should Weimann return to the starting line-up it will surely be for one of the attacking roles, rather than in a withdrawn position.
Attack
Which brings us to the attack and the area of the team most ripe for change but after scoring three without reply against West Brom, surely now is not the time for tinkering?
It’s hard to say because Pearson may look at Sam Bell and not consider him quite ready for a Championship start - let’s be honest, the FA Cup is a slightly different, less pressured, environment - but, then again, you simply can’t leave out a forward player who scored two goals and performed with so much energy and vigour.
It would be a huge shock to see Bell removed from the team, while we’re not sure Pearson quite sees him as the central No9 just yet, so that likely cements Nahki Wells position in the team as Tommy Conway is still weeks, perhaps even months away from a return.
Therefore there is, realistically, one spot in the team and four players fighting for it: Mark Sykes, who’s in possession of the jersey, Weimann, plus new arrivals Anis Mehmeti and Harry Cornick.
Putting Sykes to one side for now, Weimann does make a lot of sense down that right channel and if he were 100 per cent fit and with games under his belt, it’d likely be a straightforward decision. Pearson, and his predecessors in the dugout before him, have always tended to start the Austrian whenever he’s available, but the City boss doesn’t need to be forced into such a decision.
With five league fixtures this month, there will be plenty of opportunities for him to win a place in the starting XI and this doesn’t seem the necessary time when you take into context the good performances that have been produced in his absence.
As for the new faces, Mehmeti’s role is clearly down the left which was vacated by Semenyo and filled by Bell who, as we said, started and very much produced last week and Pearson’s rules of selection state that he will more than likely continue there. We should also remember that, for all his talent and ability, the 22-year-old is still making the step up from League One and needs time to adapt.
Cornick is perhaps the slightly wildcard shout, and possibly the most realistic option, but what perhaps prevents the duo from being involved from the start - and they’re almost certain to get on at some stage - is how long they’ve been at the club.
Mehmeti has trained for two-and-a-half days, Cornick one day less. It’s a very small window of time to integrate yourself with your teammates and get up to speed with the manager’s expectations and the general pace and rhythm of the team.
For all those reasons, coupled with his own position in what has been a winning team, it remains Sykes’ shirt to lose.
Bristol City (4-3-3, probable): Max O’Leary; George Tanner, Zak Vyner, Rob Atkinson, Cam Pring; Kal Naismith, Matty James, Alex Scott; Mark Sykes, Nahki Wells, Sam Bell
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