Bristol City play host to Blackpool on Saturday afternoon knowing that they realistically require a victory to remain as outsiders for a Championship playoff spot.

At a time when the Robins sit in 13th spot in the standings, 10 points adrift of the top six, Blackpool are 22nd and six points away from safety.

Match preview

Since the turn of the year, Bristol City have been one of the in-form teams in the Championship, collecting 16 points from eight matches to suggest that they could still mount a bid for the playoffs.

While that remains the case, a 2-0 defeat at Cardiff City and a goalless draw at Huddersfield Town have led to all momentum being lost at the wrong time.

Nigel Pearson will be conscious of that, his team also not scoring more than one goal in a match since February 4, but victory on Saturday would at least keep his side competitive in the race for the playoffs.

Although they were defeated 3-0 at home to Manchester City in the FA Cup, Bristol City have been excellent at Ashton Gate of late, collecting 11 points from a possible 15.

Pearson's side have also conceded just once in their most recent three league matches on familiar territory ahead of facing opponents who are not known for their goalscoring exploits.

Blackpool have netted just three times in six outings, while just six strikes have come from nine matches since Mick McCarthy's appointment as manager in January.

That said, it was impossible to put a negative spin on their last contest as the Seasiders impressively held frontrunners Burnley to a goalless draw at Bloomfield Road.

The stalemate represented a third successive clean sheet on the North West coast, putting the onus on Blackpool to improve on their travels.

As many as five successive away defeats have been posted in the second tier, with Blackpool not posting a victory since they defeated Coventry City at the end of October.

Team News

Pearson is expected to select from the same group of players as Tuesday night with a number of his Bristol City squad absent for the foreseeable future.

Fresh legs could be introduced in midfield and attack with Andreas Weimann, Anis Mehmeti and Harry Cornick all options available to Pearson.

While McCarthy was satisfied with a share of the spoils versus Burnley, it came courtesy of a more defensive-minded lineup than usual being named.

Although the Blackpool boss will be against overly-tinkering with his team, Morgan Rogers and CJ Hamilton are alternatives in the final third.

Arsenal loanee Charlie Patino seems likely to remain on the substitutes' bench having not featured since February 21.

Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O'Leary; Tanner, Vyner, Pring, Dasilva; James, Weimann; Sykes, Scott, Bell; Cornick

Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Maxwell; Gabriel, Nelson, Thorniley, Thompson; Dougall, Connolly; Bowler, Carey, Rogers; Yates

We say: Bristol City 2-1 Blackpool

With Blackpool encouraged by holding the runaway leaders, this should prove to be a closer match than many may anticipate. Nevertheless, Bristol City have generally performed well since the turn of the year, and we see the home side edging this contest by the odd goal in three.

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