Runaway Leaders Won’t Be Stopped By Swindon

Runaway League One leaders Bristol City welcome one of the only teams capable of catching them this season on Tuesday, but will Swindon be able to put a dent in their charge to the title?

Form

A 1-1 draw with mid-table Oldham Athletic stretched Bristol City’s unbeaten run to ten games in all competitions with Aaron Wilbraham getting on the scoresheet first at Boundary Park with 19 minutes to play before Carl Winchester scored the goal which earned hosts Oldham a point four minutes later.

That unbeaten run also included a Wembley win over fellow League One outfit Walsall in the Johnstone Paint trophy final in late March. They have, however, begun to lose some of their momentum somewhat in the league lately after being held to draws in three of their last four games in English football’s third tier.

Veteran striker Wilbraham is the club’s top scorer in his first season at the club with 15 goals in League One and 18 in total.

Saturday’s galling 3-0 home defeat to MK Dons brought an end to a run of three wins on the spin for Swindon and saw the Dons leapfrog their opponents into third place in the table following a result which now makes it an uphill struggle for the Robins in their attempts to reach the Championship.

Mark Cooper’s side are now seven points adrift of Preston in the final automatic promotion places and a massive 15 points behind the leaders, albeit with two games in hand. Only Bristol City have picked up more points away from home in League One though.

With 20 league goals Andrew Williams is top scorer for Swindon, level with Joe Garner in the race to be the leading scorer in the division, although Williams has scored just once in his last seven.

Team News

Winger Jay Emmanuel-Thomas could feature from the start for Bristol City but the hosts have no new injury concerns that will enforce changes.

Louis Thompson remains sidelined through injury for Swindon, with the midfielder unlikely to feature again this season while Williams could come back into the starting line-up after coming off the bench in their loss on Saturday.

Head to Head

Swindon are one of only five teams to inflict a defeat on Bristol City in League One this term having earned a 1-0 victory at the County Ground back in November when Michael Smith scored a late winner against the ten-man visitors, who had Wade Elliott sent off inside the first five minutes.

In fact they’ve proved something of a bogey side for City in recent years having not lost any of their last ten encounters and winning six of them in a run extending over a decade.

Recommended Bets

Anything less than a win for the visitors will all but mathematically put an end to their chances of a top-two finish but despite their fine record against Bristol City and eye-catching odds of 13/5 it’s not a gamble that appeals.

At odds-against of 23/20 the hosts have to be backed here then while both teams scoring in a home win could reap dividends at 29/10 and the 4/5 on more than 2.5 goals should also be taken on.