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Charlton Athletic are just 90 minutes away from returning to the Championship for the first time in five years, as they prepare for Sunday’s League One play-off final against Leyton Orient.
The Addicks ran out 1-0 winners against Wycombe Wanderers in their semi-final clash, with Matty Godden’s late goal in the second leg proving to be the only difference between the sides who finished fourth and fifth in 2024/25.
Nathan Jones was positive after the stalemate in the first game, and his side were able to take a vital victory at The Valley to secure their place in the final, as they look to repeat their antics in 2019 when they defeated Sunderland.
All signs point to an extremely close affair at the weekend, but Charlton may just have one advantage over Leyton Orient that could prove too much to overhaul for the O’s.
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Nathan Jones has made his Charlton Athletic team incredibly strong defensively
When Jones took charge of the Addicks in February 2024, the club were struggling towards the bottom end of League One.
He quickly got to work in making them tougher to beat, and they survived comfortably before pushing on this season, with an excellent end to the campaign seeing them secure their place in the play-offs.
Defensive strength once again saw Charlton through, with Jones’ team being able to limit opponents to very few good chances. Only Birmingham City (32.1) had a lower xG at their own goal than the South London outfit (40.8).
On top of that, the League One champions (28) and Wrexham (28) were the only two teams to concede fewer goals than the Addicks (32) in the box over the course of the 46 games in the regular campaign, and Leyton Orient will have to be at their best to win promotion.
Charlie Kelman could provide Nathan Jones with a strong challenge at Wembley
Despite this strength at the back, the O’s do possess their own secret weapon and they will be keen to have their own say at Wembley.
Charlie Kelman has been spectacular for Leyton Orient this season, with the striker scoring 21 goals in the league, while he has already added two more to his account in the play-offs as his side look to avenge their defeat to Rotherham United in 2014.
Kelman scored a controversial strike in the first leg of his side’s semi-final battle with Stockport County, but his quality cannot be denied and he will be looking to find the pockets of space that will be left by Charlton’s defence on Sunday, as the two London clubs prepare to do battle.