Nigel Pearson shares update on Bristol City quartet as Derby County clash looms

Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson has revealed that Andy King, George Tanner, Joe Williams and Callum O’Dowda are all in contention to feature for the club in this weekend’s meeting with Derby County.

King was an unused substitute on Monday as the Robins were forced to settle for a point in their showdown with Sheffield United.

Chris Martin’s effort was cancelled out by a strike from Morgan Gibbs-White at Ashton Gate.

George Tanner hasn’t played for the club since their 2-1 defeat to Queens Park Rangers in December as he has been sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Williams meanwhile was a notable absentee from the Robins’ squad for their meeting with Sheffield United.

As for O’Dowda, he has not participated in a senior game for City since February due to a knee injury.

The Robins will move up to 17th in the Championship standings on Saturday if they beat Derby and Cardiff City slip up in their meeting with Sheffield United.

Ahead of this fixture, Pearson has shared an update on King, Tanner, Williams and O’Dowda.

Speaking to Robins TV (as cited by Bristol City’s official website), Pearson said: “Andy King is back in the squad, George Tanner may even come into the reckoning too and Joe Williams will be back in contention for selection as well.”

Making reference to O’Dowda, Pearson added: “Callum has been training regularly with the first team for a couple of weeks so there is potential for him to be available as well, we’ll see.”

The Verdict

It will be intriguing to see whether his particular quartet do indeed line up for the Robins this weekend as the club aim to extend their unbeaten run in the Championship to four games at Pride Park.

Although King and Williams will both be vying for a spot in central-midfield, they