JWSport Jacek Waszak – Sport journalist
Bristol City will return to BS3 on Saturday for their first home appearance in a month and will welcome a R’s team who are just one point above them in the league standings.
Before the break, City travelled over 900 miles twice in one week to face Norwich City and Burnley. Neither game resulted in points, but Nigel Pearson’s team can take a lot of positives from their performances against former Premier League teams.
After 10 rounds of the Sky Bet Championship, The Robins are in ninth place and are a point away from the play-offs. Four wins, two draws and four defeats are the make-up of City’s first 10 results and they probably deserved more.
Twelve games remain until the FIFA World Cup break and manager Nigel Pearson believes this block of matches will give a clearer indication of where the group stands.
“We now have a block of 12 games before the World Cup, which is a very unusual situation, but we will try to make the most of it by managing the squad until then,” – Pearson said.
“We’re only as good as our last game, and we’ve lost our previous two, so we need to get back to winning ways. We have had a reasonable start to the season and our performances have been consistent.
Bristol City lost in the games against Norwich and Burnley, but can take a lot of confidence from those performances. They will be hoping to build on that in tonight’s encounter with Michael Beale’s team.
The Robins have won their last three home games and have kept three clean sheets in the process. A win today will see them move above QPR in the table and have a chance of progressing to the playoffs.
Pearson will be without Matty James in midfield, so Joe Williams or Han-Noah Massengo are likely to start the match alongside Alex Scott. Defender Timm Klose is also out due to a knee problem.
We’ll be bringing you live updates and reaction to the match this afternoon, so stay tuned and continue scrolling below.
Tyler Roberts scored his first league goal for QPR, who won against Bristol City to finish fifth in the Championship.
The Welshman, on a season-long loan from Leeds, doubled Rangers’ lead with the second of two quick strikes in the first half at Ashton Gate.
Captain Stefan Johansen opened the scoring before Roberts upped the ante to 2-0 after a Kenneth Paal centred strike.
Former QPR striker Nahki Wells reduced the deficit after an hour of play, but the visitors held on to the ball to secure the points.
“It was a very disappointing performance in the way we contributed too much to the defeat. We were guilty of making too many mistakes which created an atmosphere of nervousness.
“The harder some of our players tried to fix things, it became a bit disorganised. It’s not the level of performance we expect from ourselves.
“The organisation at the back was not what it should have been. We made too many unforced errors.
“In a tight game, when you’re playing against good Championship sides – and QPR are certainly one of them – you can ill afford to compound how difficult fixtures like that can be.” Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson said for a post-match interview with BBC Radio Bristol
“We could have scored four goals in the first half.
“Even though we were leading 2-0 at half-time, I was worried that we were a bit wasteful. You always wonder if missed chances will come back to haunt you.
“Bristol City were right in the second half and it was nerve-wracking after they scored the goal.
“We had to show fortitude and put ourselves where it hurt us. So I’m delighted – the boys are starting to show me good things as a group.” QPR coach Michael Beale was interviewed after the game and told BBC Radio Bristol after the game
