One victory away from the Championship, Charlton Athletic and Leyton Orient clash in the League One playoff final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Addicks squeezed past Wycombe Wanderers to make this showpiece match, whilst the O's were surprise victors over third-placed Stockport County.
Match preview
© Imago
Following a five-year absence from the second tier of English football, Charlton Athletic are potentially only 90 minutes away from returning to the Championship, just 12 months on from a sobering 16th-placed finish in League One, marking a new low in the recent history of the capital club.
The Addicks were up against it during the semi-finals of the playoffs, facing Mike Dodds's Wycombe, who competed with Birmingham City and Wrexham for a top-two spot for the majority of the regular season, meaning that they came into the two-legged affair as slight favourites.
Nevertheless, momentum was certainly on the side of Charlton across the pair of matches, with former Coventry City bagsman Matt Godden scoring the only goal of the tie during the second leg at The Valley to book his side's spot in the Wembley showdown versus Leyton Orient this weekend.
Whilst the Addicks last tasted defeat on home soil all the way back in the middle of December, the London-based outfit have been less productive on the road of late, losing 3-0 at Wrexham on April 26 before playing out a goalless draw with the aforementioned Chairboys earlier this month.
Boasting experience of managing in the Premier League as head coach of Southampton, Nathan Jones will be looking to guide Charlton back to the Championship with as little drama as possible on Sunday, although the 51-year-old is not afraid of being the centre of attention as somewhat of a pantomime villain on the touchline.
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Enjoying a sensational six-game winning streak at the conclusion of the regular campaign, Leyton Orient timed their playoff push perfectly, eventually finishing sixth in the League One standings, three points ahead of cash-strapped Reading, who were sentenced to another term in the third tier.
Nurturing hopes of returning to the Championship stage, the O's battled hard against Stockport County in their semi-final earlier this month and managed to advance via the lottery of penalty kicks, with Tottenham Hotspur loanee Josh Keeley becoming a shot-stopping hero in between the sticks.
Bagging a brace during the first leg at London Road, League One Golden Boot winner Charlie Kelman bumped his tally up to 23 goals for the third-tier season, with the Queens Park Rangers loanee topping the likes of Jay Stansfield and Richard Kone in the division's scoring charts.
Richie Wellens's men are in red-hot form ahead of Sunday afternoon's battle for promotion at Wembley, with the O's unbeaten across their last nine League One matches, last tasting defeat at the home of Burton Albion on April 1, when the League Two-bound Brewers picked up a shock 2-1 success.
Leyton Orient and Charlton have already met three times in the 2024-25 campaign, with the Addicks winning two of the contests, including the most recent of those in March at London Road, where added-time strikes from Macaulay Gillesphey and Kayne Ramsay flipped the contest on its head in favour of the visitors.
Team News
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After keeping a clean sheet across both semi-final matches, Charlton should stick with a centre-back pairing of Gillesphey and Lloyd Jones.
Conor Coventry and Greg Docherty will aim to control the contest from the engine room, allowing the Addicks' in-form attackers to shine further up the pitch.
The physicality of Chuks Aneke could have a significant impact on proceedings off the bench, with leading goalscorer Godden set to keep his starting berth for the Wembley clash.
Leyton Orient also have a number of forwards pushing for starts at the national stadium, including Dilan Markanday and Scotsman Azeem Abdulai.
Converting the winning penalty at Stockport last time out, Ethan Galbraith is a creative force for the O's from a right wing-back position.
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
Mannion; Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey, Edwards; Coventry, Docherty, Small, Gilbert, Campbell; Godden
Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:
Keeley; Edmonds-Green, Beckles, Currie; Galbraith, Brown, Clare, O'Neill; Agyei, Donley, Kelman
We say: Charlton Athletic 2-1 Leyton Orient
After two unsuccessful Wembley trips, Jones will be hoping it's third time lucky at the national stadium, this time at the helm of Charlton.
Leyton Orient have done fantastically to make this match after sitting in the bottom four as recently as November, but we feel that the O's will fall just short of the Championship this weekend.
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Carter White
