Bristol City v Norwich: Back Twine to hit the target | OneFootball

EFL Championship

Bristol City are difficult to beat at Ashton Gate

Play-off chasing pair Bristol City and Norwich meet for Friday night's Championship action from Ashton Gate. Betfair writer Mark O'Haire is backing the Robins to avoid defeat.

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Bristol City v NorwichFriday March 14, 20:00Live on Sky Sports

Bristol City leave it late at Bramall Lane

Mark Sykes scored a 90th minute equaliser for Bristol City at high-flying Sheffield United on Tuesday night to earn a precious point in their battle for a top-six finish. Having been held by 10-man Hull last weekend, the Robins produced an improved display with assistant manager Chris Hogg feeling the second 1-1 in the space of three days felt "a lot different".

Hogg said, "The outcome is the same, but I think it feels a lot different to what it did at the weekend. We just kept playing the way that was getting us some joy in the game, what we wanted to do pre-game, passing the ball and using it and attacking certain spaces. It was a good, deserved point. The challenge now is to keep churning away, keep trying to perform."

Joe Williams returned to the starting XI in midweek following his sending off at Oxford, whilst Yu Hirakawa was also given a starting berth after impressing off the bench in recent weeks. Elsewhere, Nahki Wells was fit enough to feature from the bench after injury, whilst Cameron Pring was rested in midweek and may earn a recall for Friday night's fixture.

Norwich in-shock after second-half collapse

Norwich boss Johannes Hoff Thorup said his squad need to "go home and recover" after the Canaries imploded from 2-0 up against Sheffield Wednesday to lose 3-2 at Carrow Road in midweek. Borja Sainz and Ante Crnac had given City a deserved first-half lead, only for the Owls to score three times in 12 second-half minutes to complete a shock comeback.

Thorup, his players and staff were booed off at the end, with those who remained venting their frustration on a customary lap of appreciation from the hosts. Speaking post-match, Thorup said, "We conceded some simple goals; goals that we should not concede. It felt like something changed and we were not aggressive enough, too passive in our defending."

With number one goalkeeper Angus Gunn out of action until after the international break and back-up keeper George Long also missing due to concussion protocol, 21-year-old Vicente Reyes started between the sticks again. Meanwhile, midfielder Marcelino Nunez missed out again and is now considered a doubt for Friday's trip to Ashton Gate.

Robins rock-solid at Ashton Gate

Bristol City are looking to complete a league double over Norwich for the first time since 2008-09 having won the reverse meeting at Carrow Road 2-0 in November. However, the Robins have tabled a solitary success across their last seven home Championship showdowns against the Canaries with the visitors winning here last term (W1-D2-L4).

Only four sides have picked up more points than Bristol City 2.10 since Christmas with the Robins returning W7-D6-L2 across their past 15 fixtures. Liam Manning's men have been particularly impressive at Ashton Gate, posting W7-D2-L1 in their most recent 10 tussles here, whilst they've also managed W9-D4-L1 when entertaining sides outside the top-six.

Norwich 3.65 are unbeaten in their last three away league matches (W1-D2-L0), though the Canaries haven't always been trustworthy travellers. Johannes Hoff Thorup's troops have tasted success just four times on the road this term, two of which came against bottom-three dwellers. City are W2-D6-L8 away when facing sides outside the drop-zone.

Twine to hit the target

Norwich's away-day struggles ensure the Canaries are easily opposed against a Bristol City team that proven difficult to dismiss at Ashton Gate. But with Liam Manning's men involved in a hefty number of stalemates, it's worth taking a pragmatic approach on Friday night by backing Bristol City Double Chance in the first part of a two-leg Bet Builder.

We can partner Bristol City Double Chance with Scott Twine 1+ Shot on-Target for a 4/5 shot. Twine is renowned for his high shot counts and is averaging a hefty 4.30 per-90 at Ashton Gate this season with 9-7-1-5-6 across his last five appearances here. He managed six on-target in his last home outing and is avergaing 1.45 SOT per-90 at Ashton Gate.