Bristol City to win season opener

Championship | Preview

04/08/18

Bristol City host Nottingham Forest in the opening round of the EFL Championship. Bristol City just missed out on the promotion playoffs last term thanks to an end of the season dip in form. Nottingham Forest finished just 12 points above the relegation zone and for much of the season showed little in positive form.

Manager Lee Johnson goes into the season with Bristol City having lost their top scorer from a season ago. Nineteen goal scorer Bobby Reid was sold to Cardiff City for £10 million. He tallied more than a quarter of Bristol City's goals a year ago. Johnson will find it extremely difficult to replace those goals and it could result in the Robins sliding down the table.

Bristol City's preseason has seen the team win two of six matches. However, those two wins came in their opening two preseason fixtures. The Robins drew 1-1 with Bournemouth in their most recent preparation match.

Nottingham Forest have seen 16 players depart the club this summer. Manager Aitor Karanka took over at the City Ground in midseason and now has the chance to mold the team into what he wants. The club splashed an unbelievable £13.5m on midfielder Joao Carvalho this summer. His arrival continues to show top players are ready to trade in Portugal's top-flight for the EFL Championship. He is joined by veteran English defender Michael Dawson. The former Hull City captain has a wealth of Championship experience. He captained the Tigers when they won the EFL Championship Playoffs in 2016.

Johnson's Robins won 39 of 69 points at home last season while scoring 41 goals and conceding 28. Bristol City were fifth in goals scored when playing at home. Nottingham Forest recorded just 20 points from 69 a year ago. Karanka's team lost four straight away matches to end last season. The Reds' points total away from the City Ground was the fifth worst in the Championship and they can thank their home form for keeping them in the league. Nottingham Forest had the sixth worst goals conceded record in the Championship. The club allowed 38 goals. Dawson's addition should help the side perform better on the road and ship fewer goals away from the City Ground.

Despite Nottingham Forest's new arrivals and Bristol City's sale of Reid, the Robins will pick up all three points in the season opener. The Robins have enough quality playing at home to win against Nottingham Forest and start the season on the right foot.

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Championship Regular Season

OVERALL TABLE		PTS	GP	W	D	L	+/-
1	Ipswich Town	89	43	26	11	6	32
2	Leicester City	88	42	28	4	10	41
3	Leeds United	87	43	26	9	8	42
4	Southampton	81	41	24	9	8	27
5	West Bromwich	72	43	20	12	11	24
6	Norwich City	71	43	21	8	14	16
7	Hull City	65	42	18	11	13	8
8	Coventry City	63	42	17	12	13	14
9	Middlesbrough	63	43	18	9	16	5
10	Preston North End	63	42	18	9	15	-1
11	Cardiff City	59	43	18	5	20	-12
12	Bristol City	58	43	16	10	17	4
13	Sunderland	56	43	16	8	19	2
14	Swansea City	53	43	14	11	18	-9
15	Watford	52	43	12	16	15	1
16	Millwall	50	43	13	11	19	-13
17	Blackburn Rovers	49	43	13	10	20	-14
18	Plymouth Argyle	48	43	12	12	19	-8
19	QPR	47	43	12	11	20	-17
20	Stoke City	47	43	12	11	20	-19
21	Birmingham City	45	43	12	9	22	-16
22	Huddersfield	44	43	9	17	17	-23
23	Sheffield Wednesday	44	43	12	8	23	-31
24	Rotherham	23	43	4	11	28	-53