Charlton Athletic and Watford last faced in any competition back in January 2015, a game won 5-0 by the Hornets at Vicarage Road.

The last time Charlton and Watford met in their opening league match of the season was back in 1926-27 in the Third Division South, a game the Hornets won 1-0.

This is Charlton’s first Championship match since July 2020, when they lost 4-0 to Marcelo Bielsa’s title-winning Leeds team at Elland Road. They haven’t lost their opening league game in any of their last five seasons as a newly promoted team (W2 D3).  

Watford have won their opening league game of the season in each of the last five seasons, the only side to achieve that feat in the top four tiers of English football since 2020-21.

Including play-offs, Charlton forward Matty Godden scored 19 League One goals last season, 12 more than any other Addicks player. He has gone 18 Championship appearances without scoring, however, all for Coventry in the 2023-24 campaign, last netting at this level in November 2023 against Millwall.