Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s friendly clash between Bristol City and Newport County, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Championship outfit Bristol City will begin their preparations for the 2024-25 campaign with a pre-season friendly against League Two outfit Newport County on Tuesday afternoon.
The Robins finished 11th in the Championship last season, so they are preparing for another campaign in the second tier of English football, while Newport were 18th in League Two in 2023-24.
Match preview
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Bristol City have never played in the Premier League, and they are currently preparing for their 10th straight season in England’s second tier, with their best finish during that period proving to be eighth in 2018-19.
Last season’s 11th-placed finish represented a solid campaign, and their preparations for the return of competitive action will now begin against Newport County on Tuesday afternoon.
Liam Manning‘s side will also tackle Aldershot Town, Cheltenham Town, Exeter City and Willem II in friendlies before opening their 2024-25 Championship campaign agains Hull City on August 10.
The Robins will then be in EFL Cup action against Coventry City on August 13, before taking on Millwall, Coventry City and Derby County in the league before the end of the month.
Bristol City have brought three new players to the club so far this summer, with Fally Mayulu and Sinclair Armstrong joining on permanent deals, while Yu Hirakawa has arrived on loan.
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Newport, meanwhile, have played twice this summer, opening their pre-season with a 2-1 defeat to Barry Town United on July 20, before losing 3-0 to Llandudno in the Welsh League Cup.
Nelson Jardim‘s side have two more friendlies in the diary after this one, taking on Kidderminster Harriers and Hereford, before opening their League Two campaign against Cheltenham Town on August 10.
Newport confirmed that Jardim would lead them into the new season last week, with the Portuguese being promoted from his previous role as ‘lead coach’ to head coach.
The Exiles have been in League Two since 2013, and they finished in 18th position last season.
The Welsh outfit have had a huge turnaround in players this summer, with a number leaving on free transfers but nine have arrived, including centre-forward Nathaniel Jarvis, who should feature in this clash.
Newport County friendly form:
Newport County form (all competitions):
Team News
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Bristol City are expected to have three debutants in this match, with Mayulu, Armstrong and Hirakawa all set to be involved for the first time for their new club.
Tommy Conway was the team’s leading goalscorer last season, finding the back of the net on 12 occasions in all competitions, and he is set to lead the line in this contest.
Nahki Wells came up with eight goals last term, meanwhile, and he is also set to be involved, but there will be opportunities for a number of youngsters to make their mark over the course of pre-season.
As for Newport, Jarvis should be among the starters, while fellow new arrivals Jordan Cotterill and Luke Cooper are also likely to be in the side for the first whistle in this contest.
It is possible that two different XIs will take to the field against Bristol City, with Josh Graham, another to arrive on a free transfer, potentially featuring in the second half of the contest.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O’Leary; McCrorie, Naismith, Dickie, James; Williams, Knight, Bird, Nelson; Conway, Wells
Newport County possible starting lineup:
Riella; John, Cooper, Garrett, Noyes; Gerrard, Cotterill, Evelyn; Bateman, Jarvis, Rowe
We say: Bristol City 2-0 Newport County
Newport should be ahead of Bristol City in terms of fitness, but there will be a huge gap in the quality of the two sets of players, and we are expecting the Championship side to open their pre-season with a win.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.