Nigel Pearson had indicated he’ll select a strong line-up for Bristol City’s FA Cup third round tie against Swansea City although he will use the extra spots on the substitutes bench to give matchday opportunities to two members of the Under-21 set-up.
City host Swansea at Ashton Gate on Sunday with one victory in their last 11 matches in all competitions, and having not won in BS3 since October 12. Pressure on Nigel Pearson has been slightly alleviated, at least from supporters, by back-to-back draws at Millwall and Coventry City, although, as he admits himself, the Robins need to start winning more games.
The FA Cup is not among City’s main priorities this term, especially with the prospect of an all-Championship tie and a Sunday lunchtime kick-off likely to lead to a low crowd, but the result of the game could be vitally important for the wider picture for the club.
Speaking to Robins TV, Pearson says his matchday squad will essentially be the same 18 that he selected at the CBS Arena on New Year’s Day, but with nine substitutes permitted in the competition, midfielders Elijah Morrison, Omar Taylor-Clarke and Dylan Kadji - who have trained with the first team in recent weeks - will come into contention.
“We need to get a win, for lots of different reasons,” said Pearson. “Off the back of the last two performances - which have been really good and we’ve been unlucky not to win one of them, it’s important we give our fans at home a performance which shows our intent for 2023. It’s important we try to get our fans into a positive mood by them seeing a really good winning performance.
“It’s important that we try and keep some sort of a theme through the fixtures, I’m not going to mess too much with the team selection. We have nine subs so there’s every chance it’ll be the same squad with the addition of a couple of youngsters who have been on the sidelines recently, but maybe they’ll get a chance to be on the bench for an FA Cup which will be another step in their development.
“It’s important for us to very much concentrate on getting the win, it’s as straightforward as that. We have a number of weeks now where we don’t have midweek games so it means there’s not a reason to freshen it up for fatigue, it’s more about getting the best side out there to get back to winning ways.”
One name who won’t be in the matchday squad is Tomas Kalas with the Czech Republic international continuing his comeback from a knee injury. The 29-year-old hasn’t played consistently since last March and although he’s back training on the grass at the High Performance Centre isn’t ready for inclusion in the first-team this weekend.
With the centre-back's contract expiring this summer, Pearson admitted before Christmas that any discussions over extending his stay in the West Country will be based around his ability to stay fit over a sustained period of time.
“Tom's in a very positive frame of mind at the minute,” Pearson added. “He's still not quite ready to be back in the squad. He's out on the grass now, he looks fit and hopefully when he's back he'll stay fit for the rest of the season.
“That's the most important thing, as we go into the remainder of the season, with players with the durability to stay there.
“Because Tom's had such a frustrating time with injury over maybe eight months - he was playing with discomfort before his operation - it's really important he comes back from this with confidence in his own fitness. That's as important as him being available.”
SIGN UP: For our daily Robins newsletter, bringing you the latest from Ashton Gate
READ NEXT
