Bristol City resume their Championship campaign on Saturday with a run of 11 games up to the next enforced break of the season with the rather peculiar arrival of the World Cup in November.
These two blocks of 2022/23, with the first comprising 10 matches, has allowed managers to plan the season in quite clear sections, managing resources and fitness levels accordingly with each chapter offering a suitable amount of data into how they might fare.
The Robins closed off their early season schedule with back-to-back defeats at Norwich City and Burnley as the fixture computer delivered a challenging one-two punch of away days against two former Premier League sides.
But Nigel Pearson’s side remain within touching distance of the top six and over these next 11 games - not forgetting the League Cup third round tie against Lincoln City - their run of games appears distinctly more agreeable, albeit compressed into just 43 days.
Firstly, they have seven games at Ashton Gate, where they’re began to turn their form to ensure they can be considered a strong home team for the first time since 2017/18. Secondly, all but three of their matches up to the tournament in Qatar are against sides currently below them in the table.
That said, the Championship is such it’s sometimes foolish to read too much into form, logic and common wisdom, and teams like West Brom and Watford will surely pick up, and when we get a chance to sit back and review these next 11 games, the picture across the whole league could be very different.
There is no doubt, however, as we stand here and now that City are in a good spot, with individuals in good touch and while there are creases to be ironed out - particularly in defence - they can look forward to these matches with confidence.
As for the mood among the fanbase, we want to know how you predict the next 11 games are going to pan out. Will City still be in play-off contention? Secured safely in the top six? Or back towards the lower mid-table area of the Championship?
Use our league predictor below to plot the results over the next six weeks and see how the league table could look.
SIGN UP: For our daily Robins newsletter, bringing you the latest from Ashton Gate
READ NEXT
