Gary Johnson says Bristol City hot-shot Nicky Maynard must learn from Cardiff marksman Michael Chopra if he wants to become a Premier League striker in the future.

Former Sunderland star Chopra proved the difference between the two sides in the recent FA Cup double-header, scoring in a 1-1 draw in Bristol and making the winner in the replay at the Cardiff City Stadium last week.

City and the Bluebirds renew acquaintance in the Championship at Ashton Gate tomorrow night and Johnson insists his players, and Maynard in particular, have to learn from their Cup exit if they are to turn the tables on their Severnside rivals.

Johnson acknowledged the part played by Chopra in orchestrating Cardiff's passage to the fourth round and openly admitted the striker had been too hot for his defenders to handle.

The City manager said: "People like Chopra think about the game and are clever and that's why they've earned a good living down the years.

"Players like Nicky have to learn from that last game so they be ready for the next game.

"Chopra spends a lot of time in offside positions and then steps back on at just the right moment. By the time he becomes active again, defenders have forgotten where he is.

"Nicky needs to learn when to step out of the game and then come back into it again. He's an honest player and he works very hard, but he needs to think about his game. He needs to think about where he stands and how he can fly into the danger zone when the opposition least expects it.

"I know Nicky has scored 11 goals this season, but most of them have been absolute world-class efforts from outside of the penalty area. I want him to score a couple of clever ones from tap-ins."

City have not beaten Cardiff since December 2007 and failure to do so again will hand the Welsh club a significant advantage in the race for the play-offs.

Johnson is urging his players to make the most of home advantage by putting the Bluebirds under pressure and being more incisive in the final third of the pitch.

He said: "It is not enough to have lots of play, you need to have clever play. Cardiff had that little bit of quality and cleverness up front and, on the day, we didn't. We had a lot of play, but didn't make their goalkeeper work hard enough.

"Cardiff created the better opportunities and we found it hard to get into those situations where we could threaten their goal.

"We know we have to improve on that when we play them again. This is a massive game for us and we have to make sure we match Cardiff on this occasion."

Beaten 3-0 in the Championship game at Cardiff's new stadium in August and dumped out of the FA Cup at the same venue last week, Bristol City's players are desperate to put the record straight and beat the Bluebirds for the first time in six meetings.

"We're out for revenge," declared Johnson, whose team has made a habit of avenging defeats in recent seasons.

He said: "Our boys are pretty good at turning results around quickly. In the past when we have lost to teams and played them again shortly afterwards, we have usually put things right.

"The boys are good at that and I know they will be working very hard to do that again on Tuesday night."