Bristol City vs Middlesbrough Prediction: Teams are seperated by two points

Bristol City will welcome Middlesbrough at Ashton Gate Stadium in Game Week 17 of the English Championship. Both teams are on two-game undefeated runs and are separated by two points in the point table. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?

Despite Liam Manning's appointment as Bristol City's new boss, the team is experiencing a transitional period for the foreseeable future. However, they have shown promise with two consecutive clean sheets since Nigel Pearson's departure. These shutouts came against Sheffield Wednesday and Queens Park Rangers, with only one goal scored by Bristol City. Despite the lack of goals, Bristol City's recent performances have kept them within four points of the top six, marking the first time they have gone two games without defeat since September. Goals remain a concern though, as the team has not scored more than twice in a match in their last nine second-tier encounters. There is a possibility that Rob Atkinson and Joe Williams will return to the Bristol City squad after recovering from their injuries. However, manager Manning is expected to make minimal changes to the lineup, with Sam Bell likely to be chosen over Anis Mehmeti on the flank.

The possible starting lineup for Bristol City includes O'Leary, Tanner, Vyner, Dickie, Pring, James, Knight, Sykes, Weimann, Bell, and Conway. 

On the other hand, their upcoming opponent, Middlesbrough, is considered one of the top teams in the division, having won seven of their last nine Championship games. However, they only managed to collect one point against Stoke City and Plymouth Argyle before their 1-0 victory against league leaders Leicester City before the international break. While Middlesbrough has struggled to score at home, they have been successful on the road, scoring a total of 16 goals in eight games. With Bristol City's limited success at Ashton Gate, Middlesbrough's assistant manager, Michael Carrick, is hopeful of securing maximum points in their upcoming match.

Assuming there are no injury concerns, Carrick could pick the same starting lineup that won against Leicester. Isaiah Jones is close to receiving a yellow card ban but is expected to retain his position on the right flank. Darragh Lenihan will not be available for the rest of the season, and it is unlikely that any other absent players will make a comeback. 

Middlesbrough's possible starting lineup consists of Dieng, Van den Berg, Fry, McNair, Engel, Howson, Hackney, Jones, Crooks, Greenwood, and Coburn. 

This match has the potential to be an intriguing contest, with the expectation that Middlesbrough will come out on top. However, it should be noted that Manning could have had an impact in the past two weeks. Despite this, we still believe that Middlesbrough will win, but in a closely fought game that will be decided by a late goal. Bet on the away side to win with over 2.5 goals in the game.