Everything you need to know about the Severnside Derby at Ashton Gate please log in to view this image Bristol City to take on Cardiff City at Ashton Gate The spotlight on Cardiff City Cardiff have made steady, if unspectacular, progress since Neil Warnock's reign as manager began with a 2-1 home win against us last October, when goals from Peter Whittingham and new signing Sol Bamba put the Bluebirds 2-0 up before Lee Tomlin reduced the arrears. Cardiff have won five and drawn four out of 13 Championship games under Warnock, including a 1-0 win at home to Aston Villa last time out, which the Bluebirds boss hailed as his side's best performance since he had been in charge. Although Cardiff remain only three points clear of the relegation zone, there has been an undeniable improvement since Warnock replaced former Bristol Rovers boss Paul Trollope in the Cardiff City Stadium hot-seat. The football has been more pragmatic than the patient, passing game favoured by Trollope, but Cardiff have been creating more goalscoring opportunities and there has been a faster tempo to their play. There has also been more pace in the side, with former Blackburn and QPR winger Junior Hoilett, one of Warnock's first signings, usually occupying the left flank and Kadeem Harris or Craig Noone on the other side. The physically imposing Bamba has made a big difference since, like Hoilett, he was signed as a free agent by Warnock within days of him taking charge of the Welsh club. The Ivory Coast international did an excellent job as a holding midfielder against Aston Villa, but is likely to revert to his usual central defensive role against the Robins now that Bruno Ecuele-Manga has headed off to the Africa Cup of Nations and key midfielder Peter Whittingham is fit again. One to watch: Zenneth Zohore A couple of months ago, the 22-year-old Danish striker appeared an odds-on candidate to be sold during the January transfer window. However, given a chance to impress as a second-half substitute against Wolves, Zohore, pictured, was instrumental in helping Cardiff turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win. He has started the three subsequent Championship games and was on the scoresheet in a 2-2 draw at Brentford. A Denmark Under-21 international, Zohore looks leaner and quicker than he did in his fleeting appearances under previous boss Paul Trollope and, at 6ft 3½ins, he has the physical presence to cope with the lone striker role favoured by Neil Warnock. please log in to view this image What about the weather? Sub-zero conditions could potentially give rise to an issue with the Ashton Gate playing surface. City had undersoil heating installed when moving their Desso pitch as part of their stadium redevelopment project last summer, but the facility is not yet ready to be switched on. The Robins will instead rely on heavy covers, which will used to cover the pitch this evening. These will stay in place until Bristol Rugby play on Friday night and then be put back in readiness for Saturday's midday kick-off against Cardiff. The Police What the police are saying about the match at Ashton Gate? The match, which kicks off at noon, will not have any restrictions for travelling Cardiff fans but police are issuing the warning after violence and disorder caused problems in the return match at Cardiff City Stadium. The police have put out the following warning to football fans ahead of the return fixture on Saturday. A spokesman said: "There are no restrictions on travel for the Cardiff City fans travelling to the game. "However there will be a positive police approach to any football related anti-social or violent behaviour. "And both South Wales and Avon and Somerset forces have pledged to crackdown on any people intent on causing problems before, during, or after the game. "Fans are reminded that anyone carrying, lighting or throwing pyrotechnics - including flares or smoke bombs - will be arrested and could be subject to prosecution. "Anyone causing problems could also face being issued with a football banning order. There are currently 80 in force in Avon and Somerset." What the bookies are saying: Tomorrow's lunchtime duel between Bristol City and Cardiff City has a tentative 'home win' moniker applied to it by bookies. The Robins may have lost 2-1 when the sides met earlier in the season, but as they enjoy home advantage, Skybet price them at 13/10 to secure maximum points. Cardiff, meanwhile, have endured an up-and-down run and William Hill have priced them as long as 12/5 to win the game, although few punters are anticipating a walkover for the home side who have struggled recently. Instead, most backers expect both teams to be defensively tight, an approach which complements the appeal of 888sport's 12/5 odds posted about the draw and BetVictor's 11/2 for both halves to end on level terms. In other markets, BetVictor's 5/6 for the match to yield fewer than 2.5 goals looks decent value, while the 14/5 Ladbrokes offer for the Robins to retain a clean sheet has, according to the match stats team at bettingexpert.com, proved a popular option. Meanwhile, Paddy Power rate the chances of the home side securing maximum points without conceding to be a 7/2 shot and 188bet post 10/3 in favour of them enjoying a one goal margin of victory. http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/bristo...-ashton-gate/story-30055252-detail/story.html The Gaffer - http://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/chance-to-win-a-few-hearts-back-johnson-3515562.aspx Warnock - http://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/warnock-its-not-just-another-game-3517323.aspx BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38538972 SKY - http://www.skysports.com/football/bristol-c-vs-cardiff/358412 please log in to view this image
Bristol City FC @bcfctweets 12m12 minutes ago #BRCvCAR: Fielding, Little, Hegeler, Flint, Wright, Bryan, Brownhill, Pack, O'Dowda, Djuric, Abraham. #BristolCity Bristol City FC @bcfctweets 14m14 minutes ago #BRCvCAR subs: O'Donnell, Magnusson, O'Neil, Paterson, Tomlin, Wilbraham, Engvall. #BristolCity
More than a little surprised to see Brownhill in the middle of the park over, O'Neil, Smith and Tomlin.
1-1 Pilkngton with a penalty after a foul by Little. A bigi big test now of the teams fragile confidence, do they have enough to go for the win, or will they try to hold on for the point?
You couldn't make this Sh!te up, conceded 2 in the last 10 mins again, now losing 3-2 after leading twice. Something HAS to change.
