Tomas Kalas in: Is this Bristol City’s best XI on paper when every player is fully fit? | OneFootball

Bristol City are at risk of ending the 2021/22 campaign with a whimper.

The Robins are likely safe from relegation but have slipped to 19th in the table with four defeats in their last five Championship games.

This was always likely to be a transition season at Ashton Gate as Nigel Pearson looked to start building his squad with the view to challenging for promotion further down the line but supporters may have been hoping to see more clear progress.

There have certainly been positives, with the performances of a few of the club’s younger players particularly notable, but once again injuries have meant that Pearson has rarely been able to name his best team consistently.

But what would City’s starting XI look like if the whole squad was fit? We’ve examined just that…

Dan Bentley lost his place to Max O’Leary in the early months of 2022 and only regained it due to an injury to the former so it would be a tight call between the sticks.

25-year-old O’Leary certainly looks a player with a bright future but Bentley has proven his quality time and time again at Championship level and he gets the nod.

Jay Dasilva looked like he could be on his way out of the club ahead of the January window before fighting back into contention but his best performances have come as an inverted right-back so Cam Pring slots in at left-back.

Pring’s form may have dropped slightly in recent weeks but his industrious defending and lung-busting runs earlier in the season are what earns him his place.

Dasilva was in consideration at right-back but that is George Tanner’s natural position and though the 22-year-old is not the finished product, he is Pearson’s best option there when the whole squad are fit.

The experienced Nathan Baker and Timm Klose are unfortunate to miss out at centre-back but on paper, Tomas Kalas and Rob Atkinson is a partnership that should complement each other with a view to emulating the relationship the Czech built up with Adam Webster.

Other formations may have worked better for the Robins this season but a diamond in the middle of the park allows us to include Matty James, Joe Williams, Han-Noah Massengo, and Alex Scott.

They’ve not had many opportunities to really click as a midfield four but on paper, there is real quality and balance. James’ experience and control at the base of the midfield, with the tenacious Williams and energetic Massengo either side of him, and then Scott – whose emergence this season has been majestic – in attacking midfield.

The 18-year-old has been used in a range of roles this term but given the other players in the squad, it may be best for him to slot in behind the strikers and pull the strings in the final third.

Think you’re a hardcore Bristol City fan? Try get 25/25 on this tough Robins quiz

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1. When did City last finish in the Championship top 10?

2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

When it comes to the forward line, dynamic duo Antoine Semenyo and Andi Weimann have both been brilliant this season and should give any defence in the Championship a real headache.

Semenyo has spent a fair bit of the season sidelined but still has six goals and eight assists from 22 appearances this term, continuing the growth that was clear in the 2020/21 campaign.

Weimann, meanwhile, has had the most productive season of his career and with 16 goals and eight assists already to his name, will be looking to break the 20-goal threshold.

Chris Martin has played his part for City this season and while his contributions – nine goals and four assists – should not be overlooked, there isn’t a place for him in our best XI.