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Tranmere vs. Bristol City match preview
In two days time, Friday night football returns to Prenton Park for the first time since last season, when Rovers defeated Port Vale 3-0 on March 31st.
Rovers can go top of League One, ahead of Nottm Forest, should they win by four clear goals or more, but this is easier said than done, with the opposition being one of Rovers bogie teams, Bristol City.
Rovers can go top of League One, ahead of Nottm Forest, should they win by four clear goals or more, but this is easier said than done, with the opposition being one of Rovers bogie teams, Bristol City.
Bristol City team profile:
Formed: 1894
Ground: Aston Gate
Manager: Gary Johnson
Nickname: City
Season Finish 2005/06: 9th (Coca-Cola League One)
Previous Meetings:
On both occassions the two sides met last season, Tranmere were soundly beaten, odd as Rovers rarely conceeded more than two goals in one game last season.
At Ashton Gate in October, Rovers lost 1-0 in the middle of a run which saw them lose five league games in a row without scoring a single goal.
Then, late on in the season at Prenton Park, Rovers lost 3-0 to City, thanks to goals for Brooker, McCammon and Woodman (a penalty). The game turned out to be the last game Brian Little took charge of at Prenton Park, as he resigned 12 days later.
Vital Stats:
Before Brian Little was in charge of Tranmere, Rovers had never lost at Prenton Park to Bristol City. They have now not picked up a point in two against the south-western club.
City have won four games in a row against Tranmere without the Wirral club scoring.
In the last six meetings, the winning side has always kept a clean sheet.
Tranmere have played Bristol City on a Friday night twice before, winning 2-0 and more recently 6-0 at Prenton Park in 1983 on 1989.
Tranmere have won eight out of 15 matches between the two sides at Prenton Park.
The Form Book:
Tranmere Home Games 2006/07: WWW
Bristol City Away Games 2006/07: WLLL
Bristol City have not had a good start to the 2006/07 season. Having picked up just three points in their opening five games, they then beat Northampton 3-1.
On the opening day, Bristol City beat Scunthorpe United 1-0 at Ashton gate, before losing four consecutive games. Whilst Blackpool beat City 4-2 at Ashton Gate, City lost three consecutive away games 2-1 to Huddersfield and Bradford in the league and Cheltenham in the Carling Cup.
However, a win against Northampton on Sky TV (3-1) and then a 1-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion saw Brizzle move up the League One table.
Tranmere meanwhile have had a hugely exciting start to the season. Under Ronnie Moore, the Super White Army possess a 100% home record, beating Oldham Athletic 1-0 on the opening day, Yeovil Town 2-1 and Leyton Orient 3-0.
Away from home, Rovers have picked up 4 out of 9 points, losing 1-0 at Cheltenham before drawing 0-0 with Doncaster and then beating Chesterfield 2-0.
Tranmere have still only conceeded two league goals in 540 minutes of League One football which is a great defensive record, and a four goal win on Friday would push them top of League One, if only for a few hours.
Team News:
Having sold big prospect Dave Cotterill to Wigan Athletic for £2,000,000, Gary Johnson saw three of his team jailed, and one given 120 hours community service, for an incident outside a nightclub.
This leaves the former Yeovil manager with severe selection problems, as he is without key striker Steve Brooker plus midfielder Bradley Orr and defender Dave Partridge.
Gary Johnson is expected to name a similar, if not the same line up to the one that beat Brighton and Hove Albion last Saturday.
Meanwhile, Ronnie Moore has no fresh injury worries at Tranmere and is expected to name exactly the same line-up that beat Leyton Orient 3-0, so convincingly, last weekend.
Calvin Zola and Danny Harrison remain on the sidelines and are not in with a chance of being named in the 16 man squad.
Jones' Prediction: Tranmere Rovers 3-0 Bristol City