Charlton Athletic

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Relegation-battling Charlton Athletic host promotion-chasing Ipswich Town in a vital encounter at both ends of the Championship table on Wednesday night (kick-off 19:45 BST).

The Addicks are six points above 22nd-placed Oxford United before the midweek round of fixtures and a win would put them on the brink of safety.

If the U's lose to Wrexham on Tuesday evening, Charlton would need just a point to guarantee safety, while if Oxford draw, victory would see Nathan Jones' side survive.

The Tractor Boys currently occupy the second automatic promotion spot but could be leapfrogged by Millwall or Southampton - or both - by the time they kick-off at The Valley.

Kieran McKenna's side also have a game in hand on the chasing pack and even a draw at Charlton would keep their fate in their own hands.

• Following their 3-0 win in October, Charlton are looking to complete the league double over Ipswich for the first time since 2001-02 in the Premier League.

• Ipswich have failed to score in five of their previous eight league games against Charlton, but have netted 14 goals in the three games they have found the net (4-0, 4-4, 6-0).

• Charlton have lost five of their past six home league games (W1) including each of the previous three; they last lost four in a row in February 2024.

• Ipswich, who lost their most recent away league game 2-0 at Portsmouth, are looking to avoid suffering successive away defeats in the Championship for the first time since April 2019 (run of three).

• Ipswich have only won one of their five league games against newly promoted sides this season (D2 L2), failing to win either of their away matches so far (1-1 v Birmingham, 3-5 v Wrexham).

Charlton Athletic boss Nathan Jones spoke to BBC Radio London after his side's 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday:

"I'm disappointed. In the cold light of day it's a good point because it means we go further away from the relegation zone.

"But in level of performance I expect us to be better.

"We had chances first half where we hit the bar, where we have chances where we haven't quite taken advantage.

"Then we start the second half much better, we score, Sonny Carey hits the post and then they're going to have elements of things.

"They just clip a little ball in and we make an error and then that costs us the game.

"That's the frustrating thing really, we can't seem to put a 90-minute performance together at the minute."

Image source, Opta

Charlton Athletic will aim to take a major step towards securing Championship survival when they visit already relegated Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday (kick-off 15:00 BST).

The Addicks are five points clear of the drop zone with four games remaining but are without a win in their past five matches (D2 L3).

After picking up just one point in 17 league games, the Owls have drawn their past two and are within four points of avoiding finishing the season on a minus total.

• Sheffield Wednesday have won their previous four home league games against Charlton, keeping a clean sheet each time. Only against Grimsby between 1950 and 1979 have they won five in a row without conceding.

• Following their 2-1 win in October, Charlton are looking to complete the league double over Sheffield Wednesday for the first time since 1953-54 in the top-flight.

• Sheffield Wednesday kept their first league clean sheet of 2026 last time out, holding leaders Coventry to a goalless draw. They last kept back-to-back clean sheets in the same Championship campaign in their final two games of 2023-24 (2).

• Charlton are unbeaten in their past six away games in the Championship (W2 D4), despite the Addicks averaging just 39% possession across those six matches.

• Sheffield Wednesday's Jamal Lowe has scored in both of his previous league games against Charlton, netting at The Valley in July 2020 (for Wigan) and in this season's reverse fixture for the Owls (October 2025).

Image source, Getty Images

Charlton Athletic boss Nathan Jones spoke to BBC London after the home defeat against Preston North End.

"We started really well, got the goal and had a number of chances to get further ahead," he said.

"But we switched off and lost shape at a set play and they scored from it. They started the second half better and we're lethargic and they score after we give the ball away.

"Then we throw everything at them and have a number of chances and can't score which is pretty much what has been happening.

"The home form is concerning. My worry is that for all our play we don't have the conversion rate we need to win games. we had a number of chances today but cannot score."

Image source, Getty Images

The EFL has announced the fixtures for the 2026-27 season will be published at midday on Thursday, 25 June.

The first-round draws for the Carabao Cup and the Vertu Trophy will be made on the same day.

The new season will kick off on the weekend of August 7-9 with the first round of the Carabao Cup, and the opening fixtures in the Championship, League One and League Two will follow a week later on 14-16 August.

The first round of the Vertu Trophy will be played in the week commencing 21 September.

Image source, Getty Images

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones says poor starts in both halves were the reason for their home loss to Bristol City.

The Addicks conceded early goals in both halves as they lost a third home game out of four.

They are still 18th with the relegation zone eight points below them, as they failed to pull further clear in rubber-stamping another season of Championship football.

"At the start of both halves, we were poor and that's cost us the game today," he told BBC Radio London.

"We work every single week on starting fast and being front-footed and in the first 50 seconds, we mess about it and give a corner away and that sets the tone.

"It was a game we could have drawn or won in the end but we didn't show enough quality in the final third and some of our defending was so un-Charlton like, it was crazy.

"The start killed us. When we're in the game, we know we're going to be strong late on attacking that end, but we're not giving ourselves a chance.

"It's a carbon copy, the last few home games, we're not learning from that and that's tough to take."

Image source, Getty Images

Championship clubs spent just over £69.5m on agents fees over the past 12 months according to figures released by the Football Association,, external an increase of £6m on the previous year.

The figures cover the period from February 2025 with Ipswich Town the top spenders, paying £11.7m having spent the first three months of the accounting period in the Premier League.

Southampton (£8.3m) and Leicester (£5.8m), who were relegated alongside Ipswich are the second and third-highest payers on the list.

Troubled Sheffield Wednesday were the most frugal when dealing with agents, spending £534,559.

Wrexham come in sixth on the list with an outlay of £3.6m while current Championship leaders Coventry spent just short of £1.5m.

Championship agents' fee spending, external

• Ipswich - £11,738,920

• Southampton - £8,381,358

• Leicester City - £5,866,587

• Sheffield United - £5,005,498

• Norwich - £4,020,206

• Wrexham - £3,660,584

• Swansea - £3,088,645

• Middlesbrough - £2,900,314

• Bristol City - £2,774,990

• Hull City - £2,450,431

• Stoke City - £2,088,886

• Birmingham City - £1,996,502

• Millwall - £1,982,348

• Preston North End - £1,831,233

• QPR - £1,829,036

• Watford - £1,612,833

• Coventry - £1,497,990

• Derby - £1,409,507

• West Brom - £1,346,030

• Oxford - £1,235,536

• Charlton - £904,698

• Portsmouth - £831,818

• Blackburn - £676,980

• Sheffield Wednesday - £534,559

Image source, Opta

Charlton Athletic will hope to take a major step towards Championship survival when they host struggling Bristol City on Friday (kick-off 15:00 BST).

The Addicks are on 48 points and nine clear of the relegation zone, with 50 points generally considered the magic number needed to stay up in the second tier.

Nathan Jones' side are without a win in their past two games (D1 L1) since winning two on the bounce against Birmingham and Middlesbrough.

The Robins' play-off ambitions have deteriorated after five games without a win (L4) and just one victory from their past eight. They have slipped from eighth and within a point of the top six to 16th and 12 points adrift on that run.

It is that recent form which prompted the City hierarchy to sack head coach Gerhard Struber and place Roy Hodgson in caretaker charge of the club he managed in 1982 until the end of this season.

• Charlton have alternated between defeat (2) and victory (2) in their previous four home league games against Bristol City, with this the first time they've hosted them since a 3-2 win on Boxing Day 2019.

• Bristol City have lost just one of their past five league games against Charlton (W2 D2), going down 3-2 at the Valley in December 2019.

• Charlton have lost four of their nine home league games in 2026 (W3 D2), one more than they did in 22 at the Valley in 2025 (W15 D4 L3).

• So far in 2026, only already relegated Sheffield Wednesday (10) have failed to score in more different Championship games than Bristol City (8).

• Charlton have had more different substitutes score for them in the Championship this season than any other side (9), while only Ipswich (17) have had more sub goals overall than the Addicks (13).

Image source, SNS

Lyndon Dykes believes he has achieved his goal of enhancing his World Cup chances and improving Charlton Athletic as a team after signing from Championship rivals Birmingham City in January.

The London side might have only moved up one place - to 18th - since the Scotland striker arrived, but they have won five of their 14 games since, compared to two of the previous 14.

"Really enjoying my time there," the 30-year-old, who has scored twice in 13 games for his new club, said. "The main aim was getting game time and minutes, feeling good and making Charlton a better team hopefully and I think I've done that so far.

"We've got to finish the season strong, I am there until the summer and then we'll see what happens."

Dykes earned his 49th cap by starting Saturday's 1-0 defeat by Japan but is not taking his seat on the plane to the Americas for granted.

"You have to make sure you finish strong and finish fit and hopefully performing as well," he said.

Dykes recognises "there are things we can do a little bit better" when the Scots face Ivory Coast in Liverpool on Tuesday.

"We conceded a sloppy goal, but these are games that we can learn from going into the World Cup," he added.

"We don't want to be losing games, but the manager is trying new things out, he's got a bigger squad and I'm sure he'll use a lot of the squad for the next game.

"It is another test and another team we haven't played before and it is going to cause us more challenges."

Paul Sullivan
Fan writer

Image source, Shutterstock

The Valley on Saturday felt like spring and a reality check rolled into one for Charlton Athletic.

Norwich City, battle-hardened from their unlucky defeat at Southampton and not home until 03:00 GMT on Thursday, still had enough about them to show their Championship quality and win through in the end.

Pelle Mattsson's fifth-minute strike – crisp, clinical and helped by Charlton backing off – underlined key differences between the two outfits.

Norwich's structure was striking: they moved the ball with real clarity, hunted Charlton in packs when possession was lost and even indulged in a touch of nonchalant showboating at kick-off.

When Charlton did have the ball, the players in yellow and green were pecking at them relentlessly.

For Charlton fans, that opening 45 minutes was a tough watch: passive, short on belief and worryingly familiar for a side that has not scored more than once at home since October.

The early goal brought an uncomfortable thought. After what Southampton did to us in November - conceding five by half-time - was another mauling on the cards for us?

Only goalkeeper Will Mannion, making a string of excellent saves, kept that fear at arm's length and strengthened his case to keep Thomas Kaminski out of the side.

After the break, though, Charlton finally began to look like the team Nathan Jones is trying to build. The press had more bite, the passing gained purpose and chances came: Greg Docherty, Kayne Ramsay, Harry Clarke and Sonny Carey all went close as Norwich retreated into heroic blocks and counter-attacks.

By the end, after The Valley crowd pleaded for a penalty when Lloyd Jones was wrestled to the floor and sceptical about a mere five minutes added on, Charlton had strong claims to have earned a point.

Norwich, to their credit, showed exactly why Philippe Clement has transformed this team from relegation candidates into one of the form teams in the division.

Their organisation is something Charlton can aspire to: the same intensity home and away, the same belief, the same ruthless use of moments. Yet for all the difference in resources and squad depth, the league table still has Charlton only a handful of points behind – a reminder that this is "Championship school", and the Addicks are learning quickly.

There are legitimate gripes – the penalty that never came and the baffling delay before the introduction of Charlie Kelman, who had netted twice in recent games.

There is also a fine line between constructive criticism of Tyreece Campbell, who improved markedly when shifted to wing-back, and the caustic abuse that serves nobody.

Because when the anger subsides and the international break gives everyone time to reflect, one truth remains: under Nathan Jones, Charlton are in a good place, nine points clear of trouble, and good enough to take their rightful place in the Championship again in 2026-27.

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones bemoaned his side's lapse in defence as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Norwich City at The Valley.

Pelle Mattsson scored the only goal for the Canaries in the opening five minutes but, despite having plenty of time to recover from the early setback, the Addicks failed to reply.

"We have to defend the goal better," Jones told BBC Radio London. "

We debrief, we tell them, we show them. That's really disappointing. Then we have enough situations in the final third to have created more than we did, but we lacked quality and composure.

"We hit the bar. We had so many situations and opportunities to cross and punish, but we don't. That's our learning curve. It's a tough league and we have to get better - whether that's more work or different personnel.

The Charlton boss also expressed his dissatisfaction with the performance of referee Will Finnie but when considering the bigger picture for Charlton in their first campaign back in the Championship, he is heartened by their progress.

He added: "There are unacceptable decisions again. Last week there was, in my opinion, a poor refereeing decision and it cost us. I have no doubt in my mind we'll get another apology for a baffling decision.

"If I do my job, and it goes to the timescales, then we're talking a few years for us to be competing and playing. We are competing with these, but on a different level resource wise.

"We're not in the worst place but we want to push boundaries. If we develop in the next two years as we have the last two years, we'll be in a different position."