Heading south west to Brizzle

It's been very much a case of one step forward and then one or two back this season. We seem to pull a win out of the bag when things aren't looking too good and conversely there's been a poor result or performance just when it has looked as though things are improving.

Fit again Michael Duff will be in the squad

This week we won one and lost one at home. Blackpool were easily beaten last Saturday but then Leicester came and won just as easily in the end on Tuesday although it has to be said that Leicester looked more than a decent outfit.

Back on the road, it has looked as though things have been easier away from home this season. We've won half of our away games but, in truth, the better performances have in the main come at home. We certainly played well at Derby, where we won 3-2, but the performances weren't anything to write home about at either Millwall or Coventry.

Still, right now it is a matter of getting points. We need them to ensure we don't drop any closer to the bottom of the league and if we get them we can get ourselves closer to the play off positions in a league that is as competitive as any with very few teams standing out and even at this stage of the season only five teams have lost less than four times.

Typically, the win against Blackpool lifted us two places but the midweek results have seen us drop back so we go into the weekend just where we were a week ago in 17th place. It's so tight in the table and had we beaten Leicester then we would have been travelling down to Bristol in the top half of the league and that's something that we've no achieved all season.

We do know that we are more than capable of winning away from home. I recall writing an article a the end of 2010 bemoaning our away record over the previous two years. There were just two league wins on the road in 2009 and the same in 2010. Already this year we've won eight away league games, five of them coming in the second half of last season.

Eddie Howe had a boost on Tuesday when he was able to include Michael Duff in the squad for the first time since he was forced off in the Carling Cup 2nd round win against Barnet. With Brian Easton ruled out and Ben Mee starting at left back it meant, without Duff, there would have been no defender on the bench.

He's almost certain to be included in the squad again tomorrow when Easton is again expected to miss out. Latest reports suggest he's not recovered sufficiently from the hip injury he sustained early in the Blackpool win.

I would think there would be few, if any, changes from the team that lost to Leicester and I'd expect us to line up: Lee Grant, Kieran Trippier, Andre Amougou, David Edgar, Ben Mee, Ross Wallace, Marvin Bartley, Chris McCann, Junior Stanislas, Charlie Austin, Jay Rodriguez. Subs from: Jon Stewart, Michael Duff, Dean Marney, Keith Treacy, Zavon Hines, Alex MacDonald.

Our Opponents - Bristol City

What do Bolton Wanderers and Bristol City have in common? The answer is that they are the only two clubs still awaiting their first home league win of the season.

One of them having a poor home record is funny, and I'm currently enjoying every minute of it, the other is more worrying as Burnley often seem to be the club that hand wins to clubs in this situation.

Bolton, going back into last season, have now lost their last seven games at the Reebok but for Bristol City, now managed by Owen Coyle's St. Johnstone successor Derek McInnes, the record isn't quite that bad.

They've lost five of their seven home league games this season and drawn against Portsmouth and Hull. To add to that they also lost at home in the Carling Cup to Swindon.

The poor results, and they hadn't been much better away from home, led to a change of manager with Keith Millen dismissed. He'd seen them win 2-1 at Leicester in August, but that was their only success before McInnes arrived.

He was there in time to see them lose 1-0 at home to Birmingham before going away and winning four points at Barnsley (2-1 win) and West Ham (0-0 draw). Those points have seen them move off the bottom of the table, now having one point more than Doncaster.

They are still very much entrenched in the bottom three and no matter what the result tomorrow they will remain there, as will Doncaster and Coventry who are currently third from bottom.

McInnes has been pleased with what he's seen so far and already said he doesn't envisage changing much from the two away games.

Forward Jon Stead and defenders Louis Carey and Jamie McAllister are all ruled out with injury still but they've added Derby County's Stephen Pearson to the squad. He's joined them today on loan until the beginning of January.

Pearson will be added to the squad that was on duty at West Ham, which was: David James, Cole Skuse, Lewin Nyatanga, Liam Fontaine, Ryan McGivern, Kalifa Cisse, Marvin Elliott, Neil Kilkenny, Martyn Woolford, Nicky Maynard, Albert Adomah. Subs: Dean Gerken, David Clarkson, Brett Pitman, Yannick Bolasie, James Wilson.

Last Time We Were There

Burnley arrived at Ashton Gate last season just as the play off hopes were about to come off the rails. After a good run we'd picked up just one point from two games in the week preceding the game, with both of them at home, and the 2-0 defeat to Bristol City was the first of four consecutive defeats that looked to have just about ended our chances.

Clarke Carlisle's last Burnley start

Eddie Howe left out Michael Duff, Dean Marney and Nathan Delfouneso from the team that had drawn with Coventry and replaced them with Andre Bikey, Marvin Elliott and Wade Elliott coming in.

Within minutes it looked as though a difficult afternoon was in prospect. Marvin Elliott saw an effort cleared off the line and then Albert Adomah, the game's best player by some distance, set up a couple of half chances.

He'd got the better of Bartley who was making his first start for Burnley, but once he settled he was very much one of our better performers and what was a woeful afternoon for the Clarets although we did have a half decent spell during the first half.

In fact, we almost reached half time at 0-0 but Adomah got down the right once more. Clarke Carlisle, who was making his last start for Burnley, should have dealt with it but missed his header and Brett Pitman made no mistake.

Somehow we survived an early onslaught in the second half and started to get a foothold in the game, but we were so slow and laboured in our approach that it was easy for the home side. We started to dominate play but never once threatened David James' goal.

Even so, we were in the ascendancy until a long punt up field found Carlisle wanting and he just about presented Nicky Maynard with the second goal.

The acting captain had endured a nightmare and I'm sure there weren't many Burnley fans disappointed when he was left out for the next game. He'd been a very good player for us and it was a sad way for him to go out, on that sort of performance.

But it wasn't just Carlisle; it was a weary ninety minutes overall from us and in the end we could have no complaints at the 2-0 scoreline.

The teams were;

Bristol City: David James, Jordan Spence, Steven Caulker, Damion Stewart, Lewin Nyatanga, Albert Adomah, Kalifa Cisse (Lee Johnson 38),Marvin Elliott, Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Brett Pitman (Andy Keogh 90+1), Nicky Maynard. Subs not used: Dean Gerken, Christian Ribeiro, Joe Edwards, Martyn Woolford, David Clarkson.

Burnley: Lee Grant, Tyrone Mears, Clarke Carlisle, Andre Bikey, Danny Fox, Jack Cork (Nathan Delfouneso 62), Marvin Bartley, Ross Wallace (Chris Iwelumo 68), Wade Elliott (Graham Alexander 90+2), Chris Eagles, Jay Rodriguez. Subs not used: Brian Jensen, David Edgar, Michael Duff, Brian Easton.

Previous Games against Bristol City

Click HERE to see all previous results against Bristol City