Good morning and welcome to today’s Bristol City live blog.
We’ll be bringing you the latest updates from Ashton Gate as the Robins get set to return to contact training at the beginning of next week.
Following the Premier League’s announcement that it is set to resume on June 17, Championship clubs will soon vote on how they wish to complete the season.
It is expected that most clubs, including Bristol City, Leeds United and West Brom, will vote to finish the remaining games, albeit behind closed doors.
Bristol City winger Callum O’Dowda was the latest Robin to appear on the official club podcast and spoke about the return to training, telling us that Benik Afobe is already practising celebrations with Kasey Palmer ahead of his return to action.
We’ll bring you all of that and more throughout the day. Scroll down for updates.
That's all from us today
Thanks for reading and we’ll be back tomorrow for more news concerning the Robins and the rest of the Championship.
Have a pleasant evening and look after yourselves.
Good night!
Championship rumours
Brighton chasing Middlesbrough starlet
Brighton & Hove Albion have enquired about Middlesbrough’s Marcus Tavernier, according to reports.
Tavernier, 21, is a product of Boro’s academy and has been capped at youth level for England.
The Daily Mail claim that as well as the Seagulls, Watford, Crystal Palace and Burnley have registered an interest in the midfielder, who has managed two goals in 32 appearances for Jonathan Woodgate’s side this season.
Tavernier is the younger brother of former Newcastle defender James Tavernier.
Hull and Barnsley chasing Burton midfielder
Fraser, 25, joined Burton from Dundee United in 2018 but he is out-of-contract at the end of the current campaign. That has put Hull and Barnsley on alert as they attempt to secure a bargain deal for the midfielder.
The Scottish midfielder has played 41 times for the Brewers this season, recording nine goals and 14 assists.
An ode to Paul Cheesley
In the latest of our series celebrating the great and good of Bristol City through the eyes of fans, Paul Gainey selects Paul Cheesley as his No1 Robin.
Gary Neville on the Championship restart
Gary Neville believes the Championship season will resume next month and believes it is important it does for the likes of Leeds United and West Brom.
It was confirmed on Thursday evening that top-flight football in England will resume on Wednesday June 17, as Project Restart took another step closer to becoming a reality.
While England’s second-tier remains hopeful of returning to action next month, with players returning to training in small groups on Monday.
With nine matches left to be played by each club, there remains a strong desire from the majority of Championship sides to ensure the season is completed on the pitch.
And while Neville has also admitted his disappointment in that League One and League Two are unlikely to restart, he believes there is a lot to look forward to in the Championship.
“I think the Championship will go ahead,” he said on The Football Show on Sky Sports.
“I do think it is sad to be fair that the funding can’t be put into place for League One and Town.
“We are going to see clubs like Stevenage and Tranmere probably lose their spaces in their leagues without even having the opportunity to play for it down to economic reasons because the funding isn’t there to support football at that level.
“But I do think the Championship will play and I do think that will be something that happens pretty quickly after the Premier League.
“We all know how important it is to the likes of Leeds and West Brom, who are at the top of that league. Everything they have invested, not just financially but emotionally to get into the Premier League, how important it is for them as clubs.
“There is a lot to look forward to in terms of football not just at the Premier League level but at the Championship level, and the play-offs likely at League One and Two as well.”
Bristol City's impressive squad depth
Okay, so maybe we’re getting a little carried away because there’s been so little football on but with a fully-fit squad again, Lee Johnson has some *serious* options.
The home and away question
The EFL has clarified their intention for remaining matches across the Championship and the rest of the Football League to take place in the usual home and away format.
While League Two clubs have voted to curtail the season, the Championship is continuing discussions on resuming the 2019/20 campaign and League One sides are yet to come to a decision.
If football does return, matches will take place behind closed doors and fans will be unable to be in attendance, something that may also be necessary at the start of the 2020/21 campaign.
However, there are some concerns that some supporters may gather outside the stadium even if no entry is allowed, particularly in decisive games at both ends of the table that could lead to celebrations.
Neutral venues continue to be mentioned as a possibility, which has proven to be an extremely controversial proposal, but the EFL has clarified that they will only be used if there is no other alternative.
An EFL spokesman said: “It remains our intention to play all remaining league matches at clubs’ home grounds as long as they comply with the relevant government guidelines.
“We will only seek to move matches if they are not permitted by the relevant local authority, following any representations from the local police force.”
Thatchers World Cup betting heating up
The competition hasn’t even started yet and the predictions and comparisons are flying in...
Remaining Championship fixtures
Luton Town chief executive Gary Sweet has suggested the Championship intends to play out the rest of the season in the order that games were originally structured in the fixture list.
The last game in the Championship which took place was on Sunday, March 8, when Derby County beat Blackburn Rovers 3-0 at Pride Park, just over 24 hours after Bristol City had drawn 1-1 with Fulham.
Since then, there have been no matches due to the postponement of football in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Charlton Athletic have dropped a hint that the Championship will recommence on June 20 with the Premier League's return confirmed for June 17.
Ahead of the possible return, here are the remaining fixtures for each side.
EFL send message over season resumption
The EFL has clarified their intention for remaining matches across the Championship and the rest of the Football League to take place in the usual home and away format.
While League Two clubs have voted to curtail the season, the Championship is continuing discussions on resuming the 2019/20 campaign and League One sides are yet to come to a decision.
If football does return, matches will take place behind closed doors and fans will be unable to be in attendance, something that may also be necessary at the start of the 2020/21 campaign.
An EFL spokesman said: “It remains our intention to play all remaining league matches at clubs’ home grounds as long as they comply with the relevant government guidelines.
“We will only seek to move matches if they are not permitted by the relevant local authority, following any representations from the local police force.”
Former City loanee diagnosed with coronavirus
ICYMI - former City loanee and Blackburn Rovers captain Elliott Bennett was one of three players to have tested positive for coronavirus in the latest round of EFL tests.
The two other players play for Fulham, but Bennett himself acknowledged his diagnosis on social media.
The state of play regarding Benik Afobe
It was an inevitable choice of phrase but welcome nonetheless as Lee Johnson uttered the immortal five words that accompany any key player returning from injury as Benik Afobe set foot once again at Failand, training with the first-team squad.
"He's like a new signing", the Bristol City head coach rejoiced on Monday with, in must be said, real excitement and happiness in his voice at the prospect of having the striker back in his armoury.
Afobe has now trained for five days under Johnson's watch - four at Failand and once in isolation - and with the Championship likely to resume towards mid-June, with at least three weeks to work on his fitness, Afobe should be as close to match-ready as is possible.
But where does he future lie?
FA Cup dates confirmed
The teams left in the competition are:
- Leicester City v Chelsea
- Newcastle United v Manchester City
- Sheffield United v Arsenal
- Norwich City v Manchester United
This will be interesting
Not saying it *should* win but Gold has to be the overwhelming favourite here.
A semi-finalist at the very least ...
How Massengo coped with lockdown
Speaking to the club website, Han-Noah Massengo has been discussing his lockdown routine.
He said:
I was trying to keep a routine because if I lost it I knew it would be hard to get back. I was waking up early doing my running and keeping to the club’s programme.
I was focused on working my upper and lower body in the morning and in the afternoon I would get out to the training ground to kick a ball and work on my weaknesses, either alone or with my brother, for the hour we were allowed, so that was useful too.
Clubs to be offered help to pay for COVID-19 tests
Sides in the Championship who are having difficulty affording tests for Covid-19 will be allowed to put payments on hold.
The EFL revealed on Thursday that three more individuals have tested positive for Covid-19 following the latest round of testing, including former Bristol City loanee Elliot Bennett..
A total of 1,030 players and club staff were tested over the last three days, with three people from two clubs being found to have the virus.
Charlton drop restart hint
Lee Johnson could well get his wish as to when Bristol City will retake the field again, after Charlton Athletic director of football Steve Gallen dropped a huge hint regarding the restart of the Championship season.
Johnson declared on Monday that he was hopeful to play again in the "second or third week of June" after the Robins resumed training this week.
With nine matches left to be played by each club, there remains a strong desire from the majority of Championship sides to ensure the season is completed on the pitch.
And now it seems Charlton are stepping up their preparations as they believe the Championship season will restart on June 20.
Afobe practising celebrations
It's been eight months since Bristol City fans were able to celebrate a goal scored by Benik Afobe and although the on-loan striker has only ever claimed three in a Robins' shirt, absence has made the heart grow fonder.
With personal tragedy, following the death of daughter Amora, and his ACL injury sustained in September, City supporters have united behind his comeback story, despite him remaining contracted to Stoke City.
After a lengthy and intensive rehab, Afobe returned to training with the rest of the squad this week at Failand and with Championship football expected to return in mid to late June, has time to build his fitness levels to match-ready status.
"I know Kasey and Benik have practised a few things," said O'Dowda, speaking to the Robins Nest podcast about goal celebrations. "I don't where they have, because I haven't see it on the training ground.
