Football / Bristol City Football Club
Rovers vs City: 2017/18 season preview
The 2016/17 season ended in relative success for both Bristol City and Bristol Rovers.
City secured safety in the Championship for another season following a respectable 17th place finish. Rovers cemented their status in their return to League One with an impressive tenth place finish. But which side will progress further during the 2017/18 season?
Bristol City face an uphill battle to improve upon their previous season. The loss of Tammy Abraham, and his crucial 23 leagues goals, is undoubtedly catastrophic. It is simply unknown if anyone in the squad has the quality to produce even close to that total. A lot of pressure lies on the shoulders of new signing Famara Diedhiou, from French club Angers.
is needed now More than ever
The Senegal striker scored eight goals in 31 Ligue One matches last season, so appears to be somewhat of a risk in a reported record £5m deal. Elsewhere, improved performances from mid-season signings Matty Taylor and Milan Đurić, who scored only four league goals between them last season, will be crucial as they continue to adapt to Championship standards.
The other main problem lies in the City defense, which conceded 66 goals last season, the fifth most in the entirety of the Championship. The defense, however, remains loaded with potential talent: Wright, Bryan, Magnusson and Vyner are all under the age of 25 with plenty of room for growth and improvement.
The team has also added experienced defender Elos Pisano, who has almost 300 appearances under his belt, following an impressive career in Italy. Both these factors suggest that the defense should be improved in the 2017/18 season.
Bristol Rovers, after flirting with the play-offs all of last season, appear primed for further play-off challenging. The team must find a replacement for the goals of Matty Taylor, the team’s leading goalscorer last season despite being sold in January, either within the team or from new signings.
Billy Bodin, one of Bristol Rovers’ main hopes
Billy Bodin, one of the stars of last season’s campaign, and Ellis Harrison, the Wales under-21 attacker, appear ready for further contributions, following their 13 and eight league goals respectively last year.
Rovers, however, also face their most severe issue in defense. They conceded 70 goals last term, the fifth most in League One. They host a strong midfield, headlined by fan favorite Ollie Clarke, but the defense simply leaked too many goals.
In spite of this, only a small improvement in the performance of the defense should be enough to launch Rovers into the play-off places, as their squad is riddled with talent.
Bristol City’s predicted finish: 15th Another season under the guidance of Lee Johnson should benefit the young squad. But losing top scorer Tammy Abraham, coupled with the competitiveness of the Championship could prove too much for City to mount any serious challenge on the top half of the table.
Bristol Rovers’ predicted finish: sixth Rovers should only build upon their very successful return to League One. They had the quality to challenge for play-offs last season and now, with an extra year of experience, should be able to sustain the position this time around.
Regular updates from our Bristol Rovers columnist James Hodges and Bristol City columnist Dave Skinner will resume from July 28 2017.
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