Bristol City Restores McNally for Charlton Championship Clash

Bristol City faced Charlton Athletic at The Valley in a Championship fixture as Michael Skubala's side returned from the international break, with Luke McNally starting for the Robins after a lengthy absence from first-team action.

According to the match report from Bristol Post, McNally made his first competitive first-team start for Bristol City since February 2025. Brian De Keersmaecker also made his City debut, while Joe Williams, Noah Eile and Lorent Tolaj were unavailable.

The lineup followed Bristol City's previous 1-0 victory over Watford, where Dom Ballard scored the decisive first-half header at Ashton Gate, according to the club's preview.

Charlton manager Nathan Jones had described Bristol City as a "perennial" Championship club during his pre-match media duties, according to Bristol Post.

Jones spoke ahead of a meeting where Charlton were looking to respond after a 3-1 defeat by Cardiff City before the international break. Bristol Post reported that Charlton had endured a difficult away run early in the Championship campaign.

Bristol City entered the match knowing a victory would keep them in the play-off positions for the rest of the weekend, while a defeat would leave them with an immediate opportunity to respond against Blackburn Rovers in midweek.

The teams had previously met at The Valley in the previous season, when Bristol City won through goals from Scott Twine and Noah Eile in Roy Hodgson's first match as interim boss. Their later meeting at Ashton Gate finished as a goalless draw.