Ashton Gate Factor Will Make Bristol City Nervous Believes Preston Boss | OneFootball

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Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom is of the view that Bristol City, with a playoff spot on the line, will be anxious playing in front of their home crowd on Saturday.

Liam Manning’s Bristol City are sitting fifth in the Championship table with 66 points from 45 games with and going into the final matchday, they have their promotion hopes on the line.

A win on Saturday will guarantee them a playoff spot, but in the event of a draw or defeat, they will have to depend on the results of other playoff-chasing candidates.

Bristol City will face Preston North End, who are in a relegation dogfight and are desperate to win the game to secure their Championship status, at Ashton Gate.

Heckingbottom admitted that Bristol City have a reason for not taking the game lightly, as the points in the fixture are important to them, but stressed that his Preston team are in need of those three points on Saturday more than the Robins.

The Preston boss thinks that playing in front of their home crowd in such a very important game will make the Bristol City players nervous and he advised his team to be selfish on Saturday and not to be worried about how Manning’s side will play.

When asked about Bristol City considering Saturday’s game very important for their season, Heckingbottom told Preston’s in-house media: “Yes, they need the win. They are wanting the points for other reasons obviously.

“They are at home, fans behind them, but with that comes a certain sense of anxiousness, you know.

“They are favourites; we go there with nothing to lose.

“We just have to go there and perform, I would say.

“Not be worried about Bristol City and not be worried about what they need the points for; just be really selfish and focus on us.

“We need that more than them.”

Bristol City are going into the game on the back of two straight defeats and they will be desperate to put in a performance in front of their home crowd.

Manning side’s home performance this season has been impressive, as they have suffered only three defeats in 22 league games, accumulating 45 points out of them.

They will be looking to reproduce at their home on Saturday against a Preston side keen to steal points to help their survival chances.