Bristol City predicted team vs Norwich City as Liam Manning set to face Joe Williams dilemma

For one last time before the international break, it's matchday. Fresh off the back of their late draw with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, Bristol City are back in action this evening when they welcome Norwich City to Ashton Gate.

Liam Manning's side extended their unbeaten run in the Championship to five matches as a 90th-minute Mark Sykes equaliser helped City secure a 1-1 draw with the Blades on Tuesday evening. Unlike the stalemate with Hull City last weekend, this draw felt more like a win than a loss. The Robins haven't had long to enjoy their extra point however, with the busy schedule throwing up yet another important game.

On paper, this is a big night in the Reds' season. Norwich currently sit 12th in the Championship, five points adrift of City and seven away from the play-off places. The Canaries have only managed to win one of their last seven league outings and head to the West Country off the back of a 3-2 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night.

Manning's side managed to come through their midweek match without any obvious new injury issues, with Chris Hogg confirming Max Bird's half-time exit was a tactical decision. However, the tight turnaround could tempt the City boss into tinkering with his side a little bit, especially with the international break around the corner.

A win could well be enough to fire the Robins into the play-off places for the next two weeks if results elsewhere also go their way. Of course, the most important thing from a Reds' perspective is getting their own job done first.

With all of that in mind, here's how we think Manning will set City up against Norwich City this evening...

Goalkeeper and defence

While there is plenty of debate to be had about who starts and where in both midfield and attack, at this moment in time, it feels like the Bristol City backline sort of picks itself. Max O'Leary was excellent against Sheffield United on Tuesday evening and deserves to keep his place between the posts against Norwich, with Stefan Bajic set to remain rooted to the bench.

Ahead of him, our bet is that the back three of Zak Vyner, George Tanner and Rob Dickie will all keep their places after another strong showing at Bramall Lane. Although City will have been disappointed to give Tyrese Campbell so much space to open the scoring in midweek, all three defenders did brilliantly well to keep a well-stocked United frontline quiet for the majority of the match.

Tanner in particular has looked a natural on the right side of defence. Supporters would have been fearing the worst when Luke McNally's season came to a premature end against Swansea City, but so far, Liam Manning's side have coped without the former Burnley man as both Tanner and Vyner have stepped up to perform well away from their usual position.

With no Josh Campbell-Slowey or McNally to take a place on the bench, the Robins are again unlikely to have any genuine centre-back among the substitutes. As has been the case in recent weeks, it will be down to one of Cam Pring and Haydon Roberts to offer an alternative option in the event of an injury.

Midfield

Now this is where things begin to become a little bit harder to predict. Of course, the nature of my employment means I still have to have a go so I will try my best.

At right wing-back, our bet is that Mark Sykes will return to the fold in place of Yu Hirakawa. The Japanese youth international was impressive at Bramall Lane on Tuesday, but Liam Manning and Chris Hogg have repeatedly insisted they will have to manage his workload given the sheer amount of football he's played over the last 18 months. That, and the fact Sykes scored the late leveller against the Blades, leads us to believe the Ireland international will get the nod, particularly after he admitted himself he would be fine to go again after such a quick turnaround.

On the left flank, it is again a straight shootout between Cam Pring and Haydon Roberts with Elijah Morrison unlikely to be thrown in the deep end after he was left out of the squad in its entirety against Sheffield United. While Roberts had one of his best nights at wing-back in midweek, we think it will be Pring who starts. The 27-year-old should be feeling a little more refreshed after watching the majority of Tuesday night's game from the sidelines and with no Championship action for the next two weeks, the Reds can take a bit more of a risk.

Between the two wing-backs, Manning arguably faces his biggest dilemma. Who partners Jason Knight? The Ireland international is as close to a certain starter as there is in this side this season, having played every minute of every league game and he will likely continue that streak against Norwich this evening. However, will it be Joe Williams or Max Bird who starts alongside him?

Williams was brilliant against the Blades but hasn't started a game at Ashton Gate since October's draw with Cardiff City through a mix of suspension and injury. The former Wigan man also hasn't started back-to-back matches for five months and Chris Hogg did reveal he was struggling with cramp in the final stages on Tuesday. As a result, we think Bird will start with Williams and Marcus McGuane offering an alternative option from the bench.

Attack and striker

In attacking midfield, Liam Manning faces a similar selection dilemma as he does in the middle of the park. I'll caveat this part of the team with the fact that we imagine Max Bird will start as one of the two number 10s if Joe Williams is fit enough to keep his place.

However, as we expect the 28-year-old to start on the bench, it feels like Anis Mehmeti, Scott Twine, George Earthy and Yu Hirakawa are all vying for those two spots. Our bet is that it will be Twine and Mehmeti who get the nod as they have been Manning's preferred pairing at Ashton Gate so far this term.

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Although he hasn't been at his best, the Albanian international remains the Robins' top goal scorer and has a knack for popping up with a goal even on his off days. Similarly, Twine has tended to start whenever fit this season, with his ability from a dead ball crucial to City's current system.

With all that being said, Earthy was brilliant from the bench against Sheffield United in midweek so it wouldn't be a total shock if he was picked ahead of Mehmeti when 7:00pm rolls around.

Ahead of the two number 10s, we think Sinclair Armstrong will lead the line for the seventh successive game. Everyone, including the Irishman, knows he needs to add more goals to his game but the lack of end product in the final third hasn't disguised the fact that he has been brilliant over the last month or so. The United defence simply couldn't deal with his pace and had it not been for a brilliant save from Michael Cooper, he would have ended his recent goal drought.

That will leave Nahki Wells, Harry Cornick and Sam Bell to offer the alternative option from the bench. The Bermudian could return to the starting line-up having overcome the injury that has seen him sidelined in recent weeks, but Manning has said in the past he doesn't like to take unnecessary risks with players returning from groin issues. Because of that, we think the 34-year-old will likely feature as a second-half substitute.

Bristol City XI (3-4-2-1): Max O'Leary; Zak Vyner, Rob Dickie, George Tanner; Cam Pring, Max Bird, Jason Knight, Mark Sykes; Anis Mehmeti, Scott Twine; Sinclair Armstrong