1 Eyes on the prize?
Since beating Manchester United in the quarter-finals, Lee Johnson’s side have dipped in form.
One win, one draw and three defeats cannot be blamed on the euphoria of seeing off the Reds, but it seems to have played a part.
A draw at QPR and home win over Reading were good results – and losing 2-1 to leaders Wolves is not exactly a shock result, given the Black and Gold’s form – but a heavy loss to Aston Villa wasn’t in the script.
The Robins were beaten 3-0 against Watford on Saturday to exit the FA Cup at the first hurdle but did so with a much-changed side.
Make no mistake, Bristol City believe they can pull off a shock win against City and will be fully focused and brimming with confidence at the Etihad.
Promotion remains their priority, but a Wembley cup final appearance must be a close second.
2 Changes afoot?
Pep Guardiola has already suggested there will be changes against Bristol City.
Whether they are on the wholesale scale we saw against Leicester is another matter.
Claudio Bravo, Danilo. Ilkay Gundogan and Oleksandr Zinchenko could keep their place and Eliaquim Mangala, Yaya Toure, Bernardo are all likely to step up from the bench.
Brahim Diaz could get the nod, too – but whether Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne are rested ahead of next Sunday’s trip to Liverpool remains to be seen.
3 No VAR - yet...
While the Carabao Cup semi-final, first leg tie between Chelsea and Arsenal will have the Video Assisted Referee, City v Bristol City won’t.
The additional back-up for referees will no doubt eventually be used in all top-flight games, but the first one involving the Blues is yet to be scheduled.
VAR will be used for goals, penalty decisions, booking or sending off reviews and in case of mistaken identity – major calls can affect the outcome of a game, but it is only in its embryonic stage in the Premier League at the moment and will make its debut in the Brighton v Crystal Palace FA Cup 3rd round tie on Monday evening.
4 Rockin’ Robins
Anyone who witnessed Bristol City’s 2-1 win over United knows the Robins are capable of taking on any Premier League side.
They have already seen off United, Crystal Palace, Watford and Stoke this season and will be aware Wolves and Leicester City both took the Blues to penalties in previous rounds.
Lee Johnson will want to head back to Ashton Gate with a result that means his side can go for broke in the return leg.
The Blues, on the other hand, would hope to travel to the south west with an advantage that would be hard to overturn – anything less than a two-goal lead will give Bristol City plenty of hope and if they can better that, we may see a full-strength Blues turn out for the second leg.
5 Atmosphere
With a record number of away fans travelling to Manchester on Tuesday evening, there should be an electric atmosphere for the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi.
More than 7,000 Bristolians will take residence in the South Stand and will make plenty of noise on their first visit to the Etihad.
Incredibly, it’s almost 38 years since the Robins last played away to City, losing 3-1 at Maine Road in April 1980.
The clubs have largely managed to avoid each other over the years with only 23 meetings ever taking place – and the Blues’ League Cup win in 2007 was the first victory in 12 attempts!
6 If City progress...
Should the Blues win the tie over the two legs, we will face either Chelsea or Arsenal in final –the weekend when City would otherwise travel to the Emirates to face Arsenal in the Premier League!
And if City were to face Chelsea (should the Robins be dispatched), the Blues would face Antonio Conte’s side in the Premier League again the following weekend!
The final is scheduled for Sunday, 25 February for whoever makes it.
