ROCKY ROBINS NEED TO BOLSTER DEFENCE

BRISTOL City may be seeking a new striker in January, but it is the other end of the pitch that needs a bit of work. Robins manager Lee Johnson has made no secret of his desire for attacking reinforcements, with Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster his firstchoice pick.

Yet only four sides have outscored City this season, whilst a tally of 32 goals conceded in 22 games represented the worst defensive record in the entire top half pre-weekend.

So far, at least, it has not proved too damaging. But just three teams in the division – Wigan, Huddersfield and Birmingham – have conceded more goals from set-pieces than Bristol City’s nine.

With an average of 23 per game, the Robins also concede the third-highest number of crosses in the Championship. In September, Owls boss Garry Monk spotted a similar weakness in Middlesbrough and ruthlessly exploited it, peppering the box with high balls and scoring three headed goals inside the opening 34 minutes. Will he try a similar tactic today? If so, City will need to be more resolute than in recent defeats to Millwall and Blackburn – their first back-to-back losses of an otherwise impressive season.

“The last two results have been disappointing but we don’t want to focus on that,” said assistant coach Jamie McAllister, whose side began the day one point adrift of their hosts. “We’ve had a great start, and we want to keep it going. We respect what Sheffield Wednesday can do, and they’re in a good vein of form. “But ultimately it’s up to what we do. If we get our game going and perform the way that we can, then we can beat anyone in the league.”