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Fulham travel to Ashton Gate tomorrow as they face Bristol City in the third round of the FA Cup, which will be their first match since the 20th of December due to postponements.
The cup tie will be first of two matches between the clubs in seven days, with the pair scheduled to meet in the Championship at Craven Cottage next Saturday.
Marco Silva has talked up his love for the competition ahead of the game but with their rearranged league clash with Reading coming on Tuesday, you feel we can expect to see some changes made.
Marek Rodak has been the first choice between the sticks in recent weeks but Paolo Gazzaniga may be given a chance to impress at Ashton Gate.
We can expect changes to the backline ahead of him, with Joe Bryan given a chance to return to face his boyhood club, Michael Hector partnering Tosin Adarabioyo at centre-back and Denis Odoi on the right.
Tyrese Francois has had to be patient and wait for opportunities this term but may well get a start alongside Nathaniel Chalobah on Saturday.
Ahead of him, Bobby Decordova-Reid could also start against his former club with captain Tom Cairney playing centrally and Harry Wilson reprising his role on the right.
No Championship player has score more goals than Aleksandar Mitrovic this season and with 22 in 22 games, he’s on course to smash Ivan Toney’s record, however, Silva could well decide to hold him back for the Royals and opt for 20-year-old Rodrigo Muniz in his place.
A victory would end a run of five games without a win for the Cottagers but they arrive in Bs3 with positivity surrounding Nigel Pearson’s side, so it may not be easy.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Odoi, Adarabioyo,
Hector, Bryan, Francois, ChalobahCairney; Wilson, De Cordova-Reid; Muniz
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Bristol City welcome Fulham to Ashton Gate on Saturday lunchtime in the third round of the FA Cup, for what is set to be the first of two ties between the pair in seven days.
Though Marco Silva’s side are 12 places and 15 points above the Robins in the league table, it’s the hosts that head into tomorrow’s game in the better form.
City got back to winning ways against Millwall last weekend and deserved to take something against QPR in their final game of 2021, meaning there appears newfound positivity surrounding the club.
Fulham, meanwhile, have now gone five games without a win and haven’t played since the 20th of December.
That will likely mean Silva names a strong XI in Bs3 but Nigel Pearson’s team showed in September they were capable of getting a result against the Cottagers.
Max O’Leary has been City’s first choice goalkeeper in recent weeks but Pearson may look to give Dan Bentley another chance to impress in tomorrow’s clash.
Rob Atkinson is another player that appears to have fallen out of favour a little but after the manager discussed his situation publicly in the pre-match press conference, you wonder whether we could see him back in the XI against Fulham.
Wholesale changes aren’t expected, which may mean we see Tomas Kalas, Zak Vyner, and Cam Pring reprise their roles in the back four.
Matty James is one of the first names on the City teamsheet right now while Han-Noah Massengo will surely start alongside him in midfield after dazzling from the bench against Millwall.
Amid links with a move away from Ashton Gate, Pearson hinted that Kasey Palmer could return to the side and it would make sense for 18-year-old Alex Scott to be the player given a rest.
In Andi Weimann, the Robins have one of the Championship’s in-form forwards and we can expect to see him involved again after his hattrick last weekend.
Starting Callum O’Dowda and Antoine Semenyo looks likely to give City the best chance of making it to the fourth round, though it would not be a surprise to see either Nahki Wells or Chris Martin given a chance.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Vyner, Kalas, Atkinson, Pring; James, O'Dowda, Massengo, Palmer,
Weimann; Semenyo
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