Exeter City kick-off the 20/21 season in Carabao Cup action as the Grecians make the short trip to Ashton Gate to face Championship side Bristol City in the first round.
Ahead of the match, manager Matt Taylor says Saturday's match at Ashton Gate is the first of two opportunities for players to claim a starting place for the league opener away at Salford City next weekend.
The Grecians face Championship side Bristol City in a 2pm kick-off this Saturday and Matt Taylor is expecting a strong challenge: "It’s going to be a really tough test at a team who were so close to the play-off places for a large portion of last season and it probably didn’t quite finish how they expected or wanted it to. They’ve got a new manager who will want to stamp his authority on that team straight away and will want a positive result.
“There is no pressure on us really, we’ve got to go there and play, some young players will be making their debuts for the club so that’s another tick and going in the right direction.
“I’ve said many times I’ll know twenty minutes into the first serious game where we are as a team, so I’m looking forward to those twenty minutes.”
THE CAPTAIN'S THOUGHTS
City captain Jake Taylor says the side are raring to go ahead of Saturday’s Carabao Cup clash with Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
The Grecians head up the M5 to face the Robins for the first time since 2001 and Taylor can’t wait for their first competitive game in over two months.
"It will be really nice to get back to playing. We’ve had a very good – but different – pre season and now the games are starting to come it’s really exciting and it’ll be a great game for us against good opposition. It’s one that we’re all looking forward to."
HOW TO WATCH
The match is behind closed doors but is available to stream live on the UK and Overseas on iFollow.
You can purchase a match pass for the 2pm kick-off at the cost of just ÂŁ10. The stream includes the live BBC Radio Devon commentary, score overlay and replays.
To purchase a match pass, please click here.
For a guide to iFollow, please click here.
MATCH DAY COVERAGE
As usual, we’ll have the match covered across our social media channels and we’ll have a post-match interview with manager Matt Taylor as he reflects on the result.
LAST TIME OUT
Bristol City ended their pre-season campaign with a 1-1 draw against League One side Swindon Town at Ashton Gate. Andreas Weimann opened the scoring for the Robins but they were pegged back by Jack Payne’s deflected chip. Elsewhere in pre-season they have beaten Cheltenham Town 4-0 and drew 1-1 with Aston Villa. A Robins XI also lost 2-1 at Weston-super-Mare.
THE STADIUM
Ashton Gate is a 27,000 capacity stadium which they share with Rugby Premiership side Bristol Bears, It has been the club’s home since 1904. It consists of the main Lansdown Stand – the latest addition to the ground – which can hold 11,000 people, as well as the Atyeo Stand, Dolman Stand and South Stand. As well as hosting a number of England under-21 internationals it has also played host to a Rugby World Cup match between New Zealand and Tonga in 1999.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTER
Bristol City 1-1 Exeter City | March 14, 2000
It has been over 20 years since the Grecians met Bristol City in competitive action. The match was a 1-1 draw in the Football League Trophy. The match was the second leg after City had been thrashed 4-0 at Ashton Gate and had three players sent off in the first leg!
