BRISTOL CITY V CARDIFF BIG-GAME GUIDE

When: (noon). Where: Saturday, November 4 Ashton Gate. Odds: Bristol City win 8/5, Draw 12/5, Cardiff win 19/10. Key men Bobby Reid (Bristol City): 23-year-old’s conversion from midfielder to forward has been a roaring success and seen him score 10 goals in 18 games so far this season. A product of the club’s academy, Reid has learned from loan spells at Plymouth and Cheltenham and become a key player in Lee Johnson’s outfit. The Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (Cardiff City): With Neil Warnock likely to prime his side for counter-attacking, the impetus of Mendez-Laing on the break could be all-important. He has the pace and power to trouble Bristol City, whose defence can be their Achilles heel. A man-of-the-match display against Ipswich in midweek has boosted his confidence. What the managers have said Lee Johnson (Bristol City): “I think it’s close. Obviously, Cardiff are above us in the league. They’re a very strong outfit, have got good individuals and strength in depth.

“I don’t know what the odds are. That’ll tell you who is the underdog. You’d like to think that home advantage will give you something and obviously the support that we have here at Ashton Gate means that the players love playing here at the moment.” Neil Warnock (Cardiff City): “I always look forward to [playing] Bristol City. I always get such a warm welcome at Ashton Gate!

“It’s strange really because we’re second in the league and I think we’ll be underdogs given the way they’re playing and the team they beat in midweek – Fulham – and they’ve beaten Premier League clubs to get Man United in the next round of the cup. I quite like the challenge of going there and trying to come away with a result.” Probable teams: Cardiff (4-2-3-1): Etheridge, Paterson, Morrison, Bamba, Bennett; Bryson, Ralls, Mendez-Laing, Tomlin, Hoilett, Ward. Bristol City (4-2-3-1): Fielding, Magnusson, Flint, Baker, Bryan; Pack, Brownhill; Paterson, Reid, O’Dowda; Taylor. Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire).