Bristol City and Gerhard Struber travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham in the second round of the Carabao Cup this evening
07:00, 27 Aug 2025Updated 07:05, 27 Aug 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.
Gerhard Struber is keen to see Bristol City progress in the Carabao Cup(Image: EFL)
Who’s up for the cup? For one night only, Bristol City and Gerhard Struber’s attention is once again diverted away from the Championship as the Robins travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham in the second round of the Carabao Cup.
The Robins boss and the City faithful have had a few days to reflect on their 1-1 draw with Derby County last time out. For 85 minutes, the Reds produced the perfect away performance after Scott Twine opened the scoring, only for Carlton Morris to burst the bubble of excitement when he turned home from close range late on to ensure the points would be shared at Pride Park.
In truth, Friday night’s draw felt more like a defeat. Fortunately, in English football, you never have to wait too long for a chance to bounce back, and the Robins have such an opportunity this evening.
Granted, it won’t be easy against a Fulham side that finished 11th in the Premier League last season and have started the new campaign with draws against Brighton and, most recently, Manchester United. Naturally, as the top-flight side, Marco Silva’s side will come into this one as favourites, but what’s the point of cup football if it doesn’t produce an upset or two?
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As has been the case throughout the season so far, Struber’s side will have to take on this challenge without longer-term absentees Luke McNally, Cam Pring, Max O’Leary, and Joe Williams. Whether or not Emil Riis will be fit to feature after being forced off following a knock to the Achilles on Friday night is not yet clear, but the City boss was hopeful the Dane would be ready to play a part when asked after the full-time whistle at Pride Park.
Since his appointment in BS3, the Austrian has made no secret of his desire to compete on all fronts this term. A win tonight would see City book their spot in the third round of the League Cup for the first time since the 2022/23 season, when Nigel Pearson was still in charge at Ashton Gate.
With that out of the way, here’s how we think Struber will set up the Robins against Fulham this evening...
Goalkeeper and defence
We’ll start this predicted team as we mean to go on... with an admission that we’re not completely sure just how Gerhard Struber and Bristol City will approach tonight’s game.
That includes between the posts. If this were a Championship game, we would be as close to certain as we could possibly be that Radek Vietk would get the nod, having impressed in the early stages of his City career. However, the Manchester United loanee was left out of the squad in its entirety for the first round win over MK Dons.
Struber didn’t suggest that absence was a result of injury. Could it have perhaps been part of the agreement with the Red Devils? We can’t be sure at this stage, and in all honesty, we probably won’t find out until 6:30 this evening. In an attempt to edge our bets, we’ll back Joe Lumley to start for the second time this term as he featured and kept a clean sheet against Paul Warne’s side in the first round.
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Ahead of the goalkeeper, our expectation is that Struber will continue to operate with a three-man central defensive unit. The question facing the Robins head coach is whether or not Rob Atkinson is ready and able to start again, having played the full 90 minutes against Derby, and with another crucial Championship game around the corner this weekend.
The former Portsmouth loanee was also left out of the squad in the first round so that he could get a well-earned rest after the win over Sheffield United. Although we think Atkinson will again miss out on a spot in the starting line-up as City continue to manage his minutes, we think he will take a place on the Reds’ bench at Craven Cottage.
In his place, our bet is that George Tanner will return to the fold against Marco Silva’s side, and Zak Vyner will be shifted back into the left-sided centre-back position. Although the academy graduate is a more natural fit on the right side, he has shown both towards the end of last season and at times this term that he is more than capable of performing on the opposite flank.
Should that above prediction be correct, it will mean Rob Dickie keeps his place at the heart of City’s backline. Now that he is back starting games for the Reds after his suspension, it would come as a surprise if he were to drop out of the team, as long as he avoids injury.
Midfield
With Adam Murphy starting for Bristol City Under-21s yesterday, and Joe Williams set for a little longer on the sidelines, it will more than likely be two of Jason Knight, Max Bird, and Adam Randell who are paired together in the middle of the park this evening.
You could make a case for any one of the three getting the nod or having a rest. Knight has played a lot of football, so perhaps could do with a break, but he is the captain and crucial to the way Gerhard Struber wants his side to play. Randell has also started every game so far this term, however, his work rate off the ball could be vital against Premier League opposition. Max Bird could do with the minutes after his injury, but is he ready to start matches?
We’re going to play it safe, with our bet being the regular combination of Knight and Randell will feature from the off once again.
Jason Knight has been an ever-present for Bristol City far this season(Image: EFL)
When it comes to who starts at wing-back, we’re going to take the Robins head coach at his word that he wants to progress in both cups this term. With that, and the quick turnaround between games in mind, our prediction is that Yu Hirakawa will start on the left and Mark Sykes will continue on the opposite flank.
Hirakawa came off the bench late on in the draw with Derby County and should therefore be ready and able to start from the off. While Ross McCrorie could well get the nod ahead of the Japanese international, he appeared to tire in the closing exchanges at Pride Park, and with his injury record in mind, it seems an unnecessary risk to start him again this evening.
It is also possible that Struber instead puts his faith in youth and turns to Elijah Morrison. The academy graduate didn’t feature for the Young Robins against Sheffield Wednesday, so we would expect him to be involved in some capacity tonight.
Sykes impressed against Derby, and while it could be argued he would be better utilised in a more advanced position, he is the closest thing City have to a right wing-back other than McCrorie. As was the case with Hirakawa, the Ireland international could drop to the bench instead of the former Aberdeen man, but we think he’ll get another run-out at Craven Cottage.
Attack and striker
In every competitive game Bristol City have played so far this season, Gerhard Struber has used the same two attacking players just behind a sole centre-forward: Scott Twine and Anis Mehmeti. Of course, rotation is always a possibility, but there seems to be no reason the Reds boss would move away from his usual plan against Fulham tonight.
Twine has probably been the Robins’ best player in the opening weeks of the new campaign, and having scored his third goal of the season against Derby last time out, he will no doubt be looking to further extend that tally against Premier League opposition. If City do have to operate without a lot of possession as well, his delivery from set-pieces could prove crucial.
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Unlike his fellow number 10, Mehmeti was a little bit quieter against the Rams. However, Struber appears to be an admirer of the Albanian international, and while he has been inconsistent throughout his time in BS3, he is capable of creating something out of nothing. Perhaps Josh Stokes could instead be handed a first start in red and white, or Max Bird could be deployed in the more advanced position, but our expectation is the former Wycombe man will get the nod.
Just who starts up front will likely depend on how Emil Riis has recovered from the knock to the Achilles he sustained at the weekend. If fit, he is quite clearly City’s best striker, yet that status may mean that Struber opts to leave him out in a bid to avoid further injury if he is not completely fit.
Even with the Austrian’s ambition to progress in both cup competitions this term, our feeling is that the Robins won’t risk losing Riis for an extended period of time. Therefore, it will be down to one of Sinclair Armstrong, Fally Mayulu, Harry Conrick, Sam Bell, or Ephraim Yeboah to lead the line.
Based on the evidence of the season so far, it seems like Armstrong is most likely to get the nod. Maybe Struber will surprise us all, but we’ll again play it safe with our prediction.
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Bristol City predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Joe Lumley; Zak Vyner, Rob Dickie, George Tanner; Yu Hirakawa, Jason Knight, Adam Randell, Mark Sykes; Anis Mehmeti, Scott Twine; Sinclair Armstrong
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