Bristol City predicted team vs Southampton: Struber to stand by thinking as Robins seek home win
Bristol Live’s predicted Bristol City team to face Southampton as Gerhard Struber’s Robins look for back-to-back league wins
07:00, 21 Oct 2025
Dan Carter is the Bristol City reporter at Bristol Live. He joined the title in November 2024 having previously been a football reporter at Breaking Media. Before that, he was a sports journalism student at the University of Gloucestershire where he also covered the Robins whilst on placement. In his role, he wants to keep supporters informed with the latest news in and around Ashton Gate whether that be on matchdays, during transfer windows or everything in between.
Bristol City and Gerhard Struber haven’t won at Ashton Gate since August(Image: Photo by David Watts/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
While the majority of Bristol City fans would likely be eager to bathe in the glory of the weekend’s win at Carrow Road for a little while longer, the Championship schedule has other ideas. With just two full days of training, rest and recovery under their belt, the Reds are back in action this evening when they welcome Southampton to Ashton Gate.
Having entered the October international break with an overriding sense of frustration, the Reds quickly rediscovered some of that early-season optimism with a 1-0 win over Norwich City on Saturday afternoon, claiming three points which all of Gerhard Struber, the players and supporters clearly enjoyed.
However, you never get too long to revel in England’s second tier and now, attention turns to the visit of the Saints. Following relegation from the Premier League last term, Will Still’s side have won two of their first 10 Championship matches and currently sit 16th in the table with 12 points to their name.
It perhaps hasn’t quite been the start most were expecting from one of the early favourites for automatic promotion, but there is a sense that there are more gears for Southampton to hit. They make the trip to Ashton Gate having avoided defeat in each of their last four league games, but off the back of back-to-back draws against Derby County and Swansea City.
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City’s injury issues have been well-documented. The Reds are down to their bare bones in a handful of key positions, with all of Jason Knight, Joe Williams, Max Bird, Cam Pring, Josh Stokes and now Harry Cornick out of action. Understandably, that makes rotation rather difficult for Struber, who self-admittedly isn’t someone who rushes to change a winning side.
Heading into this evening’s game, the Reds are without an Ashton Gate win since August, having failed to win any of their last three home games against Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Queens Park Rangers. If they put that right tonight, they could head into the weekend’s fixtures sitting as high as third – depending on results elsewhere.
With all of that above on mind, here is how we think Struber will set up his squad at Ashton Gate this evening…
Goalkeeper and defence
Normally, these predicted teams are a source of debate. Typically, Bristol City fans will be quick to comment and tell us where they think we are wrong and who they think should start instead of the players we select. When it comes to who gets the nod in goal currently, however, it doesn’t feel like there is really a debate to be had.
Gerhard Struber said prior to the weekend’s win over Norwich City that, at this stage, it was clear who was his number one and Radek Vitek’s display at Carrow Road will have ensured that still remains the case. The Manchester United loanee was superb between the posts against the Canaries and will almost certainly start ahead of Max O’Leary again this evening.
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Ahead of the 21-year-old stopper, we think the City boss will stand by the same back three that kept the Robins’ fourth league clean sheet of the term at the weekend. The two ‘Big Robs’ – Atkinson and Dickie – produced arguably their best displays of the campaign against Liam Manning’s side and barring one or two nervy moments, George Tanner was solid out of possession, whilst looking a little bit braver on the ball.
Now, there will be some concerned about the prospect of Atkinson starting back-to-back matches, particularly with Birmingham City in town on Saturday. While that school of thought is understandable, Struber has shown that he is more than comfortable with the idea of the 27-year-old starting game in and game out.
When he’s in the form he currently is, you can’t blame the Robins boss. Should he need to be withdrawn before the full-time whistle, Haydon Roberts will likely be the man to offer an alternative from the bench.
Midfield
As we mentioned in Saturday’s predicted team, it is pretty easy – or at least we think it is – to predict who will start in midfield for Bristol City at this moment in time. With no Jason Knight, Max Bird or Joe Williams, for now at least, it seems incredibly unlikely that Gerhard Struber will move away from the combination of Zak Vyner and Adam Randell that has started each of the Reds’ last three league games.
Once again, Randell was superb at Carrow Road as he continued his impressive start to life as a City player. Struber said it himself last week, the 25-year-old often goes under the radar, but his presence both on and off of the ball is at the heart of most of what the Robins do well.
Adam Randell joined Bristol City from Plymouth Argyle this summer(Image: Frankie OKeeffe/PPAUK)
It felt like Vyner almost had a game of two halves against the Canaries. In the opening 45 minutes, he gave possession away too cheaply on occasion and conceded a couple too many fouls. After the break, however, he really found his footing in the game, producing some really smart passes and even coming close to a first goal of the campaign.
While options are limited in the middle of the park, the opposite is true at wing-back, where you could make a case for any combination of Ross McCrorie, Neto Borges, Mark Sykes or Yu Hirakawa starting. This time, our bet is that it will be the combination that finished the weekend’s match: Borges on the left and Sykes on the right.
Since he was handed his first start against Ipswich Town, Borges has made that left wing-back role his own with a string of solid, and exciting, performances. He couldn’t have come much closer to a first City goal in the first half against the Canaries and carried a threat throughout; therefore, we expect him to start once again.
Sykes’ impact off of the bench on Saturday was impressive. Yes, he scored the goal, but on the whole, he made a real impression in his 20-odd-minute cameo. He tends to be a player who puts runs of form together and as a result, we think Struber will take the chance to give McCrorie a breather and restore the Ireland international to the starting line-up.
Attack and striker
So far this season, Gerhard Struber has stood by the same exact front three in all of Bristol City’s first 10 Championship matches. Of course, injuries to players such as Josh Stokes and Max Bird, who could play in the attacking midfield positions, have played a part in that decision, but for the head coach, there is quite a simple reason.
When asked about the decision to stand by a consistent spine, Struber told Bristol Live last week, “When you deliver, on the field, to a really good level, why should I change?”
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Unless the Austrian has had a sudden change of heart in the last six days, which would be a surprise after such a good showing at Norwich, we expect him to remain true to his logic and continue with an attacking trio of Scott Twine, Anis Mehmeti and Emil Riis.
Mehmeti has arguably been the Reds’ best player so far this term and once again, carried the Robins’ greatest attacking threat at the weekend. His ball in for Mark Sykes’ winner was superb and, on another day, he would have left Carrow Road with a goal or two to his name.
While Twine was slightly quieter than his fellow number 10, he also was a difference-maker in the final third. It was his pass that allowed Neto Borges to rattle the woodwork and he himself came close to the opener when he struck the side netting. Having come off early against the Canaries, he should be ready and able to start once again tonight.
Although Sinclair Armstrong’s performance off of the bench was also impressive, it is clear that he currently falls behind Riis in the striking pecking order. Barring injury, the Dane will almost certainly lead the line against the Saints, with Armstrong, Fally Mayulu and likely Ephraim Yeboah offering an alternative as Harry Cornick is expected to miss out through injury.
Bristol City predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Radek Vitek; George Tanner, Rob Dickie, Rob Atkinson; Mark Sykes, Zak Vyner, Adam Randell; Neto Borges; Scott Twine, Anis Mehmeti; Emil Riis
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