Preview: Charlton Athletic vs Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

Charlton Athletic will begin life back in the Championship with a home fixture against Watford on Saturday afternoon.

The Addicks were promoted back to the Championship through the 2024-25 League One playoffs, while Watford finished 14th in the second tier last term, some 11 points off the playoff positions.

Match preview

Charlton finished fourth in League One last season, seven points behind second-placed Wrexham, meaning that they needed to navigate their way through the playoffs in order to secure a return to the Championship.

That proved to be the case, with the Addicks beating Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 in the semi-finals of the playoffs, before posting a 1-0 success over Leyton Orient in the final at the end of May.

Nathan Jones's side have been in strong form during pre-season, winning four of their six matches, including a 3-0 success over National League outfit Southend United last time out.

Charlton have been busy during this summer's transfer window, bringing in the likes of Charlie Kelman and Harvey Knibbs, and there is a lot of quality in their squad.

The team's main aim for this season will be to consolidate back in the Championship and avoid a relegation battle, but the step-up in class from their 2024-25 League One season will be huge.

Watford, meanwhile, finished 14th in the Championship last season, boasting a record of 16 wins, nine draws and 21 defeats from their 46 matches to collect 57 points.

The Hornets were 11 points off the playoffs and eight points above the relegation zone, so there is clear room for improvement during the coming season, and a push towards the top six is not impossible.

Paulo Pezzolano's side have also been active during this summer's transfer window, with their biggest signing proving to be Nestory Irankunda from Bayern Munich, while Joao Ferreira and Mileta Rajovic are among those to have left.

Watford have actually not locked horns with Charlton since January 2015, with the former recording a 5-0 victory in the Championship affair at Vicarage Road.

Meanwhile, Saturday's contest will be the first meeting between the two sides at the home of Charlton since September 2014, when the Addicks recorded a 1-0 win.

Charlton Athletic pre-season form:

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Watford pre-season form:

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Team News

Charlton have not reported any injury concerns ahead of the contest, and there are set to be a number of new signings in the home side's starting XI on Saturday afternoon.

Kelman, fresh from scoring 21 League One goals for Orient last season, will lead the line, while there are also set to be spots in the final third of the field for fellow new arrivals Knibbs and Tanto Olaofe.

Thomas Kaminski will make his debut between the sticks, while Joe Rankin-Costello is likely to be given the nod as the right-sided wing-back for Charlton this weekend.

As for Watford, Marc Bola and Hector Kyprianou are set to be among their debutants on Saturday afternoon.

Luca Kjerrumgaard is another new arrival at the club, making the move on loan from Udinese, and he is set to feature in the final third of the field for the Hornets here.

Moussa Sissoko scored six times from midfield last season, and the 34-year-old is again set to be an important player for Watford this season, with a start expected on Saturday.

Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:

Kaminski; Jones, Gillesphey, Burke; Rankin-Costello, Docherty, Coventry, Bell; Knibbs, Kelman, Olaofe

Watford possible starting lineup:

Selvik; Ngakia, Pollock, Abankwah, Bola; Louza, Kyprianou; Baah, Sissoko, Doumbia; Kjerrumgaard

We say: Charlton Athletic 1-1 Watford

It is always difficult to predict what will occur on the opening weekend of a new campaign, especially as so many new players will be on display. It would not be a surprise to see either a home or an away victory, but we believe that a tight match will end with the points being shared.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.