Charlton welcome Preston North End to The Valley on Saturday with the two clubs occupying rather different ends of the early Championship table.
Both clubs started last season strongly before slipping down, with Preston enduring a particularly disappointing end to their campaign. They struggled in defence towards the conclusion of last season and have started the new season in the same vein, Defeats by Bolton Wanderers and Wolves leave them pointless, with five goals conceded. Looking at comments after Saturday's defeat to Wolves, their fans are concerned, even at this stage.
This is despite the club bringing in fresh blood and breaking its transfer record by investing £6m in Alfie Devine who spent last season on loan with them from Tottenham. They have also recruited Harry Clarke so we can anticipate some serious grappling in the penalty area from long throws. Thierry Small has featured in both their games so far but not so Tyreece Campbell. Although they showed interest in Tyreece it is hard to come up with a single reason why his career would have been in any way enhanced by joining Preston. Thankfully his signing of a new CAFC contract gives every discerning Charlton fan a boost.
Similarly to us, Preston play in a 4-2-3-1 but they press in 4-4-2 shape. The idea behind this is that the entire backline is being pressed and build up is stifled, requiring a long ball over the top. The benefit Charlton have here is Miles Leaburn. Even if the 6ft 7in striker doesn’t get his head on the ball, he’ll chase down a lost cause until it’s found, as West Ham found out in the lead up to both goals last weekend. Alfie Devine has played on the right wing in both matches this season. He is a central midfielder by trade and will tuck in to create overloads. Harry Clarke will bomb forward to join the attack which should leave a lot of space for Tyreece Campbell or Karlan Grant to exploit.
Nobody should be getting carried away in August but, after being widely tipped as relegation candidates, Charlton have already given people reason to reconsider. We're so high up at this stage we're practically in Middlesbrough - territory where promotion favourites such as West Ham and Burnley were expected to be. But it's us up there alongside West Bromwich Albion and a certain set of noisy neighbours.
The second of our two victories, away to West Ham, was particularly impressive. Nathan Jones admitted afterwards that his side enjoyed some luck, but they also earned it through character, organisation and determination. Lloyd Jones showed real leadership as captain, our newly-signed goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo played his part, and Tyreece Campbell provided the decisive moment at the other end. TC has taken his share of criticism, with a lot of it disproportionate, but so far this season he has answered it in the best possible fashion. Charlton took their opportunities and then defended effectively. Sometimes football really can be that simple, even when viewed from a great height and distance, as at West Ham - “the pitch in another postcode”, as someone joked on social media.
In that light, it's both a good and a bad time to face The Lilywhites. Just as we caught West Ham at the right time, with them slightly on the hop as they get used to life in this division, it could be a good time to face Preston. However, any team with no points on the board is also likely to be in fighting mode. A lot of clubs came into this season with high hopes after seeing what Hull City achieved against expectations last year - something further cemented by last weekend's opening-day win against the mighty Manchester United. And less than four months ago, we were beating a very similar Hull City side 2-1, securing the safety that has given us the springboard for starting this season with such splendour. Therefore, it's maybe not so surprising to see what our team is capable of.
They beat us home and away last season and have won the last seven encounters but this fixture has provided some Happy Valley memories. As the Mirror Sport front page above records, Preston were the visitors when Charlton celebrated promotion back to the Second Division in April 1975. Fifty-one years on, nobody is talking about promotion just yet, but six points from six has certainly put a smile back on the old place. With Millwall away to Southampton and West Brom at Middlesbrough, the weekend's papers could yet have more Happy Valley headlines if everything falls into place.
Both Charlton and Preston signalled their prioritising of league results by making multiple changes for their cup ties on Wednesday night (seven for Preston v Everton) and both exited the competition by four goal margins. However, injuries at Tottenham to Koumetio and Sichenje mean that Nathan Jones will have to patch up the defence as best he can for Saturday.