Bristol City vs Wolves: Chance to leave Robins behind

Hosts Bristol City will meanwhile be aiming to cut the gap on the Championship leaders in a top-of-the-table clash few would have predicted back in the summer.

Wolves’ participation is not so surprising, with many tipping them to challenge following Nuno Espirito Santo’s close-season overhaul of the playing squad, though few foresaw an eight-point December lead at the top.

City, however, have been nothing short of a revelation. Along with Cardiff, they have been the division’s surprise package and of late their form has been similar to their visitors tomorrow – five wins from six and a League Cup quarter-final victory over Manchester United thrown in for good measure.

In a business more cut-throat than ever, their success is testament to the patience of chairman Stephen Lansdown.

On several occasions last season, Lansdown was urged to pull the trigger on manager Lee Johnson, after a promising start gave way to an alarming collapse which at one point saw the Robins suffer a club-record eight straight defeats.

His reward for keeping faith with Johnson was first survival and now the success of this term.

Many, no doubt with last season’s slump in mind, were quick to write off the Robins.

But they have so far shown no signs of faltering and fans in a city long regarded in football terms as something of a backwater are now beginning to dream of the Premier League.

The biggest league crowd of the season – more than 24,500 – is set to pack into Ashton Gate for the visit of Nuno’s men.

Wolves arrive fresh from an entertaining 2-2 Boxing Day draw at Millwall, just the second time they have dropped points in an unbeaten run which now stretches back 10 league games.

It is merely an indication of the increased expectations and standards at Molineux that such a hard-fought and likely valuable point was met with disappointment by many members of the team.

“We were a bit deflated,” admitted Matt Doherty. “Millwall started off quite well which we expected, they got the early goal and I thought we responded really well.

“We got in a few times, a better final ball from a lot of us maybe could have resulted in a few more goals. We might have lost the game last season, under these kind of conditions. It was quite hostile to start.

“We knew it was going to be a battle. Millwall away on Boxing Day, I mean it doesn’t get much harder than that in the league. But at least we didn’t lose.”

Wolves, who have been beaten in their last two trips to Ashton Gate, but were unbeaten in six visits prior to that, have doubts over the fitness of forward Ivan Cavaleiro and defender Willy Boly, who picked up injuries against Millwall on Boxing Day.

Leo Bonatini, Diogo Jota and Danny Batth all scored as the teams played out an entertaining 3-3 draw at Molineux earlier this season.