A point against a fellow play-off rival should never be discounted, but Saturday's goalless draw against Nottingham Forest threw up some familiar criticisms of Lee Johnson's Bristol City.
Forest may be one of the Championship's best defensive sides , who have improved immensely in that department under Sabri Lamouchi, but the Robins inability to muster a shot on target at Ashton Gate was damning of their performance.
As was the fact that the Robins played 33 minutes of the second half against 10 men following the dismissal of Ryan Yates for a dangerous lunge on Adam Nagy.
Johnson did try and force the issue by introducing Niclas Eliasson and Kasey Palmer for the final 25 minutes; the Swede particularly effective as he constantly attacked down the right flank, sending in a series of picturebook centres.
But a combination of some fine Forest defending and Robins players not quite able to anticipate or , meant the winger's remarkable production of delivering 10 crosses, ultimately, proved futile.
For supporters, that only emphasised City's seemingly ongoing need for and the nagging feeling that at BS3 they struggle to break opposition sides down.
Whether that's through mentality, approach, system or personnel is the eternal debate.
But City have scored 10 goals in eight games on their own patch, ranking 16th overall in the Championship, and that desire for a new forward in January will only increase with performances of this nature.
Here is a reaction across social media ...
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