Preview: Wycombe Wanderers vs. Bristol City - prediction, team news, lineups

Bristol City will go in search of a first win in seven games on Wednesday, as they travel to take on Wycombe Wanderers, who sit at the foot of the Championship table.

An upturn in form has just about kept the mathematical hopes of survival alive for the hosts, while their visitors have dropped to 14th spot with just three points from their last six matches.

Match preview

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Wycombe Wanderers picked up an impressive point last time out, as they played out a 2-2 draw with third-placed Swansea City.

However, that was not quite as pleasing as it seems, as Gareth Ainsworth's men led 2-0 through Admiral Muskwe and Garath McCleary before late goals from Jamal Lowe and Liam Cullen sealed a point for the Swans.

Before that, the Chairboys were again in the wrong end of a late turnaround, as they led Luton Town 1-0 through Anis Mehmeti until the final 10 minutes, when goals from George Moncur, Kazenga LuaLua and Elijah Adebayo condemned Ainsworth's men to their 24th defeat of the Championship season.

However, Wycombe have definitely improved their fortunes in the last month, with the league's basement side picking up consecutive victories before the last two matches, defeating Blackburn Rovers 1-0 and fellow strugglers Rotherham United 3-0.

While the Chairboys will likely succumb to relegation soon, currently sitting nine points adrift of safety with 12 points left to play for, Ainsworth's men have definitely given a good account of themselves recently, and will go into Wednesday's game with the same desire that they have carried all season.

They take on a Bristol City side who have started to struggle under Nigel Pearson, having picked up just three points from their last six matches.

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After a promising start to the season, the Robins suffered a major downturn in form, triggering the departure of Dean Holden, with the board opting to bring in Pearson.

While Pearson did get off to a positive start, he has been unable to sustain that form in the Championship, and his side now sit closer to the relegation zone than the playoffs.

They did enjoy a late equaliser last time out, as Tyreeq Bakinson scored in the 87th minute to salvage a 1-1 draw with 23rd-placed Sheffield Wednesday, after Julian Borner put the Owls ahead after four minutes.

That result was somewhat impressive in the circumstances though, considering the Robins were reduced to 10 men as Henri Lansbury was shown a red card in the 20th minute, with Barry Bannan missing the subsequent penalty.

However, that did stretch their winless run to six games in the English second tier, having scored just two goals in that time.

Pearson will look to end that poor run on Sunday, as his side look to build some momentum to carry into next season.

Team News

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Wycombe will remain without midfielder Dominic Gape and defender Ryan Tafazolli for this game, as the pair continue spells out with injury.

However, their defensive options will be boosted by the return of Josh Knight, who served a suspension last time out for a red card shown in the defeat to Luton Town.

Exciting midfielder Anis Mehmeti will be pushing for a return to the starting side, after he was dropped to the bench on Saturday following his goal against Luton.

Bristol City remain without several key players through injury, as the likes of Alfie Mawson, Callum O'Dowda, Andreas Weimann and Jay Dasilva all continue spells out of action.

They will be joined on the sidelines by Henri Lansbury, who will serve a suspension after his red card against Sheffield Wednesday.

In his absence, Adam Nagy could return to the midfield, while Kasey Palmer will also be pushing for a starting spot after he was dropped to the bench last time out, having been one of the most impressive players since Pearson's appointment.

Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Jacobsen, Stewart, Knight; McCarthy, Thompson, Mehmeti, Onyedinma; McCleary; Ikpeazu, Muskwe

Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Rowe, Kalas, Vyner, Hunt; Bakinson, Nagy, Massengo; Palmer, Diedhiou, Semenyo

We say: Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Bristol City

Despite the contrasting form of the two sides, we see Bristol City coming out of Saturday's game with a narrow victory to potentially confirm Wycombe's relegation.

Their impressive response in the game against Sheffield Wednesday could be a sign of them potentially turning the corner, and we see the Chairboys falling just short if the Robins can build on that positive result.