Derby vs Bristol City prediction, best bets & betting odds

Unbeaten Bristol City travel to Derby County on Friday knowing a win would see them top of the Championship table for a few hours at least.

The Robins crushed Sheffield United 4-1 in their opening game, at Bramall Lane, before a goalless draw at home to Charlton last weekend.

Derby are without a win so far following a 3-1 defeat at Stoke City before they were thrashed 5-3 by Coventry City last time out.

They did secure a penalty shootout win over West Brom in the League Cup, following a 1-1 draw at Pride Park, to give their fans something to celebrate and set up a trip to Premier League Burnley in the next round.

Two wins and a draw from their final three games last season were just enough to keep the Rams in the Championship by a single point, while City secured sixth place before falling to Sheffield United in the play-off semi-finals.

It’s still early, but it would appear that two sides will be battling it out at the opposite ends of the season again.

There is a new man in charge at Ashton Gate, following the departure of Liam Manning, who joined Norwich in the summer, and Gerhard Struber is enjoying being back in the second tier with the Robins’ Championship promotion odds cut after their impressive start to campaign.

He was manager of Barnsley for 11 months between 2019 and 2020, before leaving for NY Red Bulls, and signed a three-year contract at City in the summer.

The good news for Derby fans is that they have lost just two of their last 10 home league games against City, winning five and drawing three and keeping five clean sheets.

When it comes to the Championship odds, City are the favourites, while on a Derby win are a decent price as home underdogs.

Betting sites are also offering 23/10 on a draw, but you have to go back 10 games to December 2018 for the last time the two sides played out a draw.

After scoring three goals against Coventry through Callum Elder, Carlton Morris and Ebou Adams, you wouldn’t bet against the Rams scoring again on Friday, but I think City will just be too strong.

Derby vs Bristol City prediction 1: BTTS and City to win - 5/1 Bet365

Scott Twine was outstanding in the 4-1 win at Bramall Lane with two goals and an assist for Ross McCrorie as they got their first points on the board.

The striker scored just six goals in 37 appearances last season, so he’s already closing in on bettering that tally, and he would love to get back to the form that earned him a £4m move to Burnley back in 2022.

He scored 20 goals in the 2021/22 season for MK Dons as they won promotion to the Championship, but he has struggled to find that form since. He’s well down the pecking order in the Championship top scorer odds in the race for the golden boot in the second tier.

However, football betting sites are offering 9/5 on him scoring or assisting, or there is a sizeable 4/1 price on him scoring at any time at Pride Park. We’re taking the safer option for him to score or assist to cover both options for Friday’s game.

Derby vs Bristol City prediction 2: Scott Twine to score or assist - 9/5 William Hill

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