Brilliant Bristol City contest fellow promotion hopefuls Swindon

Swindon Town will make the short trip to Ashton Gate to face in-from League One table-toppers Bristol City, as Mark Cooper’s men aim to keep in the hunt for a possible automatic promotion place.

The visitors, 12/5 with Coral to secure victory, have a tough test ahead of them as City boast an extremely dominant domestic home record this current campaign. Steve Cotterill’s hosts have not been toppled on home soil since mid-February and are undefeated in their last 10 outings.

Swindon come into this West County derby on the back of an inconsistent run of form, having recently suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat at the hands of fellow promotion hopefuls MK Dons. Although, in the last meeting between these two sides, Michael Smith’s second-half strike gave Swindon a narrow 1-0 victory over their bitter rivals in what was a fiery encounter at The County Ground.

City’s Wade Elliot saw red after just two minutes in that feisty clash, with Smith’s late effort ending an a previously unbeaten start to the league campaign for City. The in-form forward has netted an impressive 15 goals this term and is a 6/1 chance to open proceedings again in his latest appearance.

Despite their League One superiority, Bristol have endured a torrid time in this fixture, having failed to overcome the Robins since October 2003, with the travelling outfit securing a win in three of the four previous meetings. City are available at 23/20 to end their awful run and secure another home win.

Swindon’s Nathan Thompson will be unavailable through injury and could potentially be replaced by new signing Sam Ricketts, who made his maiden appearance in the recent 3-0 loss to MK Dons.

November’s derby day match winner Smith will be confident of striking again, while his prolific strike partner Andy Williams is the man to watch. The Swindon sharpshooter is the club’s top-scorer this current campaign, after reaching the 20-goal mark in the league, and he is 7/4 to net again anytime.

Meanwhile, City have a fully fit squad to choose from, with no new injury concerns to worry about. Top-scorer Aaron Wilbraham will be hoping to add to his impressive return this term, having slotted home in the 1-1 draw with Oldham last time out. He is an 11/2 chance to score the game’s last goal.

Both domestic high-flyers are cruising towards promotion to the Championship, but Swindon will be hoping for a derby victory which would see them climb closer to an automatic promotion position. The visitors are 11/2 to win and both teams to score at Ashton Gate.