Bristol City predicted team vs Walsall: Ballard among possible debutants as Reds eye winning start

Bristol Live's predicted Bristol City team to face Walsall as Michael Skubala's tenure and the new season get underway

Here we go again. 96 days after Bristol City's 2025/26 campaign came to an end with a win over Stoke City at Ashton Gate, the Robins get the new season and the Michael Skubala era underway against Walsall this evening.

For City, tonight's curtain-raiser comes after three months of change. Roy Hodgson has re-entered retirement, Skubala has been appointed as his replacement and has been joined in south Bristol by sporting director James Ellis, as well as eight new players.

The Reds started their summer with the signings of Sam Tickle, Sam Greenwood and Gibson Yah, all in just 48 hours. That trio of additions were quickly followed through the BS3 arrivals door by Jed Wallace, Lisav Eissat and Brad Collins, before Lorent Tolaj checked in a fortnight ago.

Then, on Tuesday night, Dom Ballard put pen to paper on a four-year deal to further strengthen Skubala's frontline. Throw in three first-team exits and the team that will take to the field against Walsall is likely to look vastly different to the one which faced the Potters in May.

The Saddlers finished last season under the guidance of Darren Byfield, having taken the decision to part ways with Mat Sadler in March. Like the Reds, they now find themselves under new management, with Lee Grant taking over the League Two side.

Given the gap between the two sides in the pyramid, the Robins will come into this one as favourites, especially as Skubala is expected to have nearly a fully fit squad at his disposal. Both Emil Riis and Yu Hirakawa could be ready to feature, leaving Luke McNally as the only likely absentee.

With all of the above in mind, here is how we think - with only pre-season to go on - the Robins will line up against Walsall this evening...

Goalkeeper and defence

We mentioned in the introduction that there is a real element of guesswork when it comes to predicting the first starting line-up of the season. That element has been exacerbated this term by the fact that Bristol City get their campaign underway with a Carabao Cup match.

It is not unusual for teams to give their second-choice stopper a run out in the early stages of the League Cup; the Robins did exactly that with Joe Lumley last term. As a result, there is a very real chance that Brad Collins could start between the posts against Walsall tonight.

However, because this is the first game of the term - not the second as the cup fixture is traditionally - we're going to back Sam Tickle to get the nod. The former Wigan Athletic stopper is very much Michael Skubala's number one and, as a result, it feels likely that he will feature against Walsall.

Ahead of the 24-year-old, Skubala has plenty of options to pick from in three of the four defensive positions. Right-back is the one defensive area in which City remain light on numbers and with that in mind, we expect George Tanner will start, with Marley Thelwell on the bench.

On the opposite side of the back four, our bet is that Cam Pring will start at left-back ahead of Seb Naylor and Elijah Morrison, although it wouldn't be a surprise if the latter played a greater than expected role.

Between the two full-backs, Skubala has to pick two from Rob Dickie, Rob Atkinson, Noah Eile and Lisav Eissat. On this occasion, given they were the pairing to start against both Newcastle United and Plymouth Argyle, we're backing Eissat and Dickie to be in from the off, with Atkinson and Eile taking a place amongst the substitutes.

Midfield

Throughout pre-season, Bristol City set up in a variable 4-2-3-1 formation. At points, the Robins looked as though they were using a flat 4-4-2, while in other games it looked like a 4-3-3. For the sake of this predicted team, we're going to quantify the 'midfield' as the two holding players and the central attacking midfielder - the number 10, if you will.

Michael Skubala has, so far, followed a trend set by both Gerhard Struber and Roy Hodgson last season by starting Adam Randell and Jason Knight as a pairing in the middle of the park. That duo took to the field from the off against both Newcastle United and Plymouth Argyle.

If this were a Championship game, we would be confident in suggesting that would be the combination utilised once again this evening. With it a cup fixture though, we have to give some credence to the possibility that Gibson Yah could get the nod, especially having missed the final friendlies of pre-season.

Would it be a shock if the 22-year-old were thrust into the team ahead of either Randell or Knight? Absolutely not... but our bet is that Yah start on the bench and Knight and Randell will start.

Ahead of that pairing, we expect Max Bird to start as the central number 10. In truth, like much of this predicted team, that is a prediction based on the evidence of last week's side against Newcastle, where the former Derby County man got the nod ahead of Scott Twine.

Attack and striker

Before we go any further, it should be noted that confirmation of Dom Ballard's arrival at Ashton Gate has thrown up the very real possibility of Bristol City deploying two strikers this evening. Our guess, though, is that one day of training is unlikely to have been enough for Ballard to immediately force his way into the fold.

With that in mind, we expect Michael Skubala to again start two wide midfielders either side of a sole centre-forward. We'll start on the right, where we're backing Tomi Horvat to feature ahead of Scott Twine.

The Slovenian international was bright against Exeter City on Saturday, having played just 45 minutes against Newcastle in midweek. Over the course of pre-season, Horvat probably offered a little more than the Reds' number 10, which may have allowed him to climb above Twine in the current pecking order.

On the opposite flank, we're backing Sam Greenwood to be in from the off. The former Leeds United man has been a regular starter over the course of pre-season, and it would come as a surprise, therefore, if he were to drop out of the starting line-up.

Ahead of that pairing, our bet is that it will be Lorent Tolaj who leads the line. The 24-year-old has hit the ground running over the course of pre-season to establish himself as - at the time of writing - the Reds' first choice at the top end of the pitch.

With the visit of Walsall potentially coming too soon for Emil Riis, who returned to team training this week, and Ballard's City career just a day or two old, the Swiss-born forward seems the most likely to start.