In the opening round of fixtures in the 2024-25 League One campaign, Charlton Athletic will travel north to take on Wigan Athletic at the Brick Community Stadium on Saturday.
The teams were separated by nine points in the final table last term, with the hosts defying a points deduction to finish 12th while their visitors only steered clear of relegation in the final months of the campaign.
Match preview
Wigan Athletic head into the 2024-25 League One season with the aim of kicking on under Shaun Maloney, having enjoyed a pleasing and resilient campaign last time around following their relegation from England's second tier.
Hampered by off-the-field issues and beginning with an eight-point deduction, the Lancashire outfit looked set to be battling against back-to-back relegations last term, and while they did fight around the bottom end of the division for most of the campaign, Maloney's men eventually defied the odds to finish 12th on 62 points thanks to three straight victories.
That tally was 18 more than the final relegation spot, while the 70 points that the Latics earned in their matches would have put them 10th in the third tier despite the difficult manner of their campaign.
Then turning their focus to the new term with the hopes of building further improvement, they return to action on the back of a busy pre-season schedule, having initially picked up victories over Accrington Stanley and Fylde alongside draws with Chorley and Blackburn Rovers, before bowing out with narrow defeats in consecutive contests against Tranmere Rovers and Barrow at the beginning of August.
Now heading into their second straight League One campaign on a level playing field, Wigan Athletic will set out to build on last season's positives and put themselves in the fight at the right end of the division this term, starting with a home victory in their curtain-raiser on Saturday.
They face a tricky test, though, as the visitors arrive aiming to kickstart a promotion bid at the DW Stadium after a disappointing campaign last time around.
Nathan Jones took over as Charlton Athletic manager in February with the London outfit sat in danger of relegation on just 31 points from 30 League One outings, and he was quickly able to steer them to safety in the final 16 outings.
From those games under the new boss, the Addicks earned 22 more points to climb to an eventual 16th-placed finish, having picked up four victories while suffering just two defeats including a final-day 1-0 loss to Wycombe Wanderers, ending a 14-match unbeaten streak with survival already comfortably wrapped up.
Turning their focus to the new campaign in the midst of a busy summer of transfer business, the Valley side began their pre-season preparations with victories over Dartford and Goztepe, and after a draw with Crystal Palace and a defeat to AFC Wimbledon, they rounded off the campaign with a 2-0 triumph over Championship side Portsmouth last weekend thanks to goals from Tyreece Campbell and Gassan Ahadme.
Now with high hopes for a first full season under Jones's tutelage following a busy summer of recruitment, Charlton Athletic will look to establish themselves amongst the League One frontrunners from the outset, starting with a victory in their curtain-raiser.
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