EFL make official decision ahead of Coventry City vs Bristol City Championship encounter
EFL make official decision ahead of Coventry City vs Bristol City Championship encounter
Bristol City will look to bridge the gap between themselves and the play-off positions
The EFL have confirmed that Robert Madley will be the referee for Bristol City’s upcoming away game against Coventry City in the West Midlands.
Wakefield-born Madley has more than 15 years of experience as an EFL referee and is the younger brother of Andrew who regularly oversees matches in the Premier League.
Madley has taken charge of 15 Championship matches this season and in that time has produced 57 yellow cards and one red card – giving him an average of 3.8 bookings per game.
The 39-year-old has taken charge of two Bristol City matches this season. The first was a 1-1 draw with Cardiff City in October while the second was a 1-0 home defeat to Championship promotion hopefuls Burnley.
Over the course of his career, Madley has overseen four Bristol City games, with the Robins winning two, drawing one and losing one in that period.
Madley will work alongside assistant referees Blake Antrobus and Carl Fitch-Jackson while the game’s fourth official will be Lewis Smith.
Bristol City currently sit ninth in the table with an encouraging points tally of 37 from their opening 26 matches. The Robins are pushing to show even greater consistency in the second phase of the season and are four points adrift of sixth placed Middlesbrough in the hunt for the Championship play-offs.
Liam Manning’s side are unbeaten in four league matches in a run stretching back to a 2-0 defeat to West Brom in what would ultimately prove to be the last match of the Carlos Corberan era before his bombshell mid-season exit to Spanish giants Valencia.
Bristol City earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Mark Robins’ Coventry team back in August and are now facing the Sky Blues for the first time since Frank Lampard’s arrival as manager.
Bristol City’s upcoming opponents
Coventry City made the bold decision to sack popular manager Mark Robins in November after his impressive eight-year stint in the West Midlands.
Since Lampard’s arrival, Coventry City have largely remained inconsistent, with the 36-year-old winning three of his opening 10 games whilst recording four draws and three losses.
Speaking ahead of the Bristol City test, Lampard told the club website: “Every game is important no matter how they come, they all bring different challenges. In this league you expect something and it’s different and there are a lot of things that go on.
“We can only focus on ourselves and take the games as they come. The squad isn’t huge, so we need players to play well and stay fit and compete.
“They’re a good team with a good coach. I know Liam pretty well. It’s going to be a difficult challenge, as they all are. They’re a good footballing team. They’re higher than us in the league and we have to aspire to make that right and focus on ourselves, but we will have a good awareness of them.”
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