Bristol City must sort worrying trend that is similar to Sheffield Wednesday and Pompey | OneFootball

Despite so-so start, the Robins have been leaking goals at an unsustainable rate.

Bristol City have already assumed their usual position of mid-table in this season's EFL Championship, but Robins fans scanning the table further will notice one glaring number that doesn't bode well for the South-West club: goals conceded.

The self-proclaimed 'Cider Army' have watched their team ship 12 goals in their opening six league fixtures, a figure which is two higher than any team not currently in the relegation zone.

Small Margins

On the surface, City's results have been as quintessentially mid-table as possible; two wins, two draws and two losses. The issue lies within the contrast in the manor of both victory and defeat.

The two victories, while nothing to turn your nose up at, have been narrow home scrapes past Millwall and Oxford. Both of these games were won thanks to goals scored past the 75-minute mark. Adversely, the two defeats have both been by a three-nil margin, with the 'winner' occurring within the first half an hour.

As both stalemates were score draws, the Bristol club have yet to achieve a clean sheet this campaign.

Gaps to be plugged

Goalkeeping is a thankless task at the best of times, but even more so when these discussions come to pass, as we must immediately look at Max O'Leary's performances to diagnose City's problem areas at the back.

In home fixtures, O'Leary has faced seven shots on target, conceding five, an abysmal showing at any level. It would appear that the shot stopper from Bath is struggling for form and confidence, and it couldn't have come at a worse time as he is knocking on the door for his national team, Rep. of Ireland.

However, as out of form as Max is, the defense are not without their blame. According to FBRef, Bristol City have allowed 20 goal creating actions so far this season, an average of 3.33 per game, a league high figure matched

only by Portsmouth.

Unsustainable

Despite the relatively small sample size, Liam Manning should have some serious alarm bells ringing over his team's performances, and should count himself lucky that they are not further down the table.

At two goals a game conceded, the Robins are on track to let up 92 goals this campaign.

For reference, only one team has ever conceded 92+ (Rotherham 16/17), while no team has ever conceded more than 87 without finishing rock bottom of the league.

City play away to Swansea on Sunday afternoon, where they will look to achieve their first clean sheet of the season.