CITY v BRISTOL CITY (A) – THE PREVIEW

If nothing else, we live in interesting times with Norwich City.

Following the euphoric triumphs against Preston and Coventry that washed away much of the negative detritus of Smithball, we promptly got our backsides handed to us last weekend.

To be fair, it was a bit much to expect us to ride that wave of positivity over a team that are, to all intents and purposes, already a Premier League outfit, after only three weeks of David Wagner entering the building. And despite their clinical exploitation of our comical errors, it wasn’t that Burnley played particularly good football that cut us open.

We defended pretty well as a group in open play but as we have found out all too often in the past, Premier League sides don’t have to play well to beat you. They just have to wait for you to make a mistake. And as we know, this team loves a mistake.

Playing out from the back requires a level of composure on the ball and confidence that really doesn’t tally with this team at the moment, particularly against a team that knows how to press from the front like Burnley.

Tim Krul and Grant Hanley simply can’t cope with playing the ball quickly under pressure, and Dimi Giannoulis and Kenny McLean, while okay on the ball, both have a tendency to spill possession when they have bodies around them.

David Wagner may have to reconsider his principles in the short term regarding his wish to play out from the back – at least until confidence has been rebuilt – particularly at Carrow Road where away teams have repeatedly exploited this weakness and made us cough up easy opportunities.

But I digress, as this week we’re not at Carrow Road and, thankfully, we’re not facing Burnley.

Pre-Christmas, Bristol City found themselves in a position not unlike ours. After losing at home to West Brom on Boxing Day, choruses of “We want Pearson Out” rang around Ashton Gate, after just one win in the previous nine games.

Nigel Pearson survived and following a system change from 3-4-1-2 to 4-3-3 the Robins are now unbeaten in eight games in all competitions.

In goal, Max O’Leary has established himself as the number-one choice and is a capable shot-stopper.

At right back, former Man United academy graduate George Tanner appears to have secured the position which, when the Robins employed wing-backs in the 3-4-1-2, he was sharing with winger Mark Sykes.

At left back, Cameron Pring has a hell of a left foot, but can be susceptible to defensive mistakes, and an argument could be made that Josh Sargent harrying him out on the right could prove fruitful, or that Marquinhos’s dancing feet might be a better way to exploit a weakness rather than with Kieran Dowell’s floating inside-forward role. It will be an interesting call for Wagner.

Jay Dasilva is another experienced option for Pearson but he’s currently behind Pring in the pecking order.

Centre-backs Rob Atkinson and Zak Vyner are both big lads, with Vyner in particular blessed with a turn of pace, so it would be no surprise to see him sticking to Teemu’s side where possible. Former Chelsea defender and Robins’ club captain Tomas Kalas cannot currently get into the side ahead of these two.

In midfield, former Luton player, Kal Naismith has moved up to anchor things, having played the early part of the season at centre-back. Alongside him, Matty James is the one to get the ball ticking between the thirds, using his experience to help out defensively, while also being composed enough to start attacks from deep.

Naismith and James allow young prodigy Alex Scott the licence to go forward and make his technical ability count in areas that can hurt the opposition. If McLean and Gabi Sara are occupied with Naismith and James, Scott is the man who can give us problems.

Joe Williams and former Leicester veteran Andy King are also options in midfield for Bristol, as is their new signing from Wycombe, and former Norwich academy player, Anis Mehmeti.

Out wide, Sykes is now playing in his preferred position of right-wing, having been freed from the shackles of playing wing-back, and has scored four in his last five games. On the other side, Sam Bell has four in four as he grabs his opportunity to replace big-money departure Antoine Semenyo. It is clear these two can be a big goal threat and have youth and dynamism.

Up front, Nakhi Wells is now very much the main man, particularly with the departure of Semenyo. Harry Cornick has also been added as an option in the forward areas, and Andreas Weimann, who must be on his 38th consecutive season at Ashton Gate, is still around.

It’ll be an interesting game. I suspect going forward Norwich might be able to get something from this Bristol team but, equally, if Sykes, Bell, and Scott can pressurize our back line, I can see Norwich having issues keeping them out.

There’s potentially a high-scoring game on the cards (so put your money on a drab nil-nil!).