Bristol City’s unpredictability continued last weekend as they fell to defeat away at Reading without registering a single shot on target, making Reading goalkeeper Joe Lumley wonder if he had even been in a game at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
After a 2-0 success away at West Bromwich Albion the game before, Nigel Pearson may have expected his side to push on but as has been the case on so many occasions this year, they stumbled and produced a performance that left the former Leicester City boss frustrated.
The title of early-season top scorers has been lost due to the goalscoring antics of Vincent Kompany’s reinvented Burnley team, and now the Robins can only
better Hull City’s defensive record, a statistic that will not mix well with any ambitions of a playoff push in their eighth-straight season in the Championship.
Pearson will likely shuffle the pack again for the visit of Swansea – particularly in forward areas – with last season’s talismanic figure Andreas Weimannhaving to settle for appearances off the Bristol bench in recent matches due to the emergence of youngster Tommy Conway.
Despite the blatant inconsistency of his team and consequently his XIs, Pearson is adamant the team are not too far away from finding their rhythm,
something that supporters will be keen on happening sooner rather than later considering the World Cup break that is fast approaching.
After an uninspiring 15th-placed finish in the Championship last campaign, many raised eyebrows at bold predictions for this season during the summer break that came out of the Swansea City camp, but now the whole league is beginning to see why those insiders were so confident.
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Martin’s men dispatched fierce rivals Cardiff City in the South Wales derby last time out, a result that continued the side’s red-hot form in the Championship, having collected 18 points from their last seven outings.
Admittedly Callum Robinson’s ball-throwing antics helped the Swans secure a more leisurely victory than expected, but once again Swansea showed an unwavered control of a second-tier game, having 83% possession and limiting Cardiff to only one shot on target.
Now fourth in the Championship standings, Swansea could draw level on points with the automatic promotion spots this weekend if they pick up a maximum in Bristol, with Michael Beale’s Queens Park Rangers only three points ahead of them in second.
