Preview: Bristol City vs. Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

Despite there being five positions between these sides in the standings, ninth-placed Watford hold just a three-point advantage over their next opponents.

Match preview

With just five wins coming from his 14 matches in charge of Bristol City, Liam Manning is yet to fully convince supporters that he is the right man for the job.

Nevertheless, the Robins showcased their potential under Manning on Tuesday evening as they recorded a 1-0 victory over West Ham United in the FA Cup.

An early strike from Tommy Conway proved to be the difference at Ashton Gate as Bristol City pulled off one of the upsets of the round in seeing off the Hammers.

A home tie with Nottingham Forest now awaits them in the fourth round, yet Manning will be eager to keep the focus on league matters with the club now four points adrift of the top six.

That is a consequence of a three-match winless streak that has featured defeats to Millwall and Preston North End, as well as no goals being scored.

Meanwhile, Watford have recently come through an indifferent period to get back on track with victories over Chesterfield and Queens Park Rangers.

The 2-1 success over Chesterfield in the FA Cup proved far more difficult than anticipated, yet Valerien Ismael would have been delighted with the character shown in that encounter.

Beating QPR came via the same scoreline, two goals from Jake Livermore handing the Hornets a lead before they held on during the closing stages at Loftus Road.

Watford are now back to within one point of the playoffs and Ismael will back his players to extend their recent impressive away run, a total of 13 points coming from five games.

Bristol City Championship form:

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Bristol City form (all competitions):

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W

Watford Championship form:

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Watford form (all competitions):

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Team News

Despite the success over West Ham, Manning could make a couple of changes to his Bristol City starting lineup.

Sam Bell and Jason Knight could be drafted back in at right wing-back and in a creative role respectively, taking the spots of Ross McCrorie and Matty James respectively.

If Mark Sykes is deemed fit enough after a hamstring injury, he will likely be named among the replacements.

Meanwhile, Ismael could decide to select the same Watford XI from the win at QPR having only made substitutions to defend their advantage.

However, Mileta Rajovic could be restored to the attack in place of Rhys Healey, while Ryan Porteous and Ismael Kone are pushing for recalls.

Bristol City possible starting lineup:

O'Leary; Tanner, Vyner, Dickie; Bell, Williams, Gardner-Hickman, Pring; Knight, Mehmeti; Conway

Watford possible starting lineup:

Hamer; Andrews, Sierralta, Hoedt, Morris; Livermore; Asprilla, Dele-Bashiru, Chakvetadze, Martins; Rajovic

We say: Bristol City 1-1 Watford

Bristol City will be full of belief after upsetting West Ham in midweek, but it remains to be seen whether they can build on such a strong performance. With that in mind, do not be surprised to see if Watford manage to earn a share of the spoils, fresh from having a midweek off.

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