Shrewsbury to upset Bristol City in the FA Cup

Shrewsbury host Lee Johnson’s Bristol City on Tuesday night as the FA Cup continues. Can the League One outfit build on an impressive performance at Ashton Gate? Have a read of our preview here:

Defensive Salop

Shrewsbury were unlucky not to beat Bristol City when the two sides met in the FA Cup third-round last Saturday. The third-tier outfit squandered a host of chances that should have put the tie to bed after they had worked so hard to bag an equaliser.

It was a shock performance from Salop who have played a very defensive style in much of their league campaign so far, much to the chagrin of supporters.

They create very few chances playing a 5-3-2 system which often sees the frontmen isolated. Last season’s top scorer Fejiri Okenabirhie looks set to depart after being dropped by manager Sam Ricketts, a strange decision given his 16 goals across all competitions last season.

Granted he has only scored three this season but in a much more defensive side. If he leaves, Salop fans will be scratching their heads and whoever picks him up will have grab themselves a very good player.

They will still be more likely to have a go at Bristol City given the nature of the cup and this competition could now go a long way towards rescuing a flagging season in Shropshire.

Will the cup be a distraction for the Robins?

The FA Cup does not have the importance it used to. This is a sad fact of modern football. Bristol City are sitting just outside the play-of places in the Championship and know that promotion to English football’s elite division will see them earn close to £100m.

It is, therefore, reasonable to assume they will not be putting as much importance on the cup as Shrewsbury. This is not something they will admit but everyone knows it is the case.

Their win over Wigan at the weekend was massive and the return of Jamie Paterson, who bagged a goal and an assist in that one, gave them an important boost with three points keeping them within touching distance of the top-six.

It was only their second win in the last seven league games, five of which they have lost including four in a row throughout December. The run had threatened to completely derail another Bristol City promotion push, something their supporters will be eerily familiar with in recent years.

The victory at Wigan will be seen as something to build upon and maybe this FA Cup fixture won’t be considered as important as next weekend’s home game against struggling Barnsley.

Shrewsbury v Bristol City betting tip

Given how important the financial rewards of the FA Cup can be for a side in League One and given the lack of importance a lot of Championship sides put on the competition backing Shrewsbury to win at odds of 2/1 with bet365.

Bet Shrewsbury to win on Bet365