The background
Another day, another game for West Ham United as they head through the Blackwall Tunnel to take on Charlton Athletic on Saturday.
The Hammers’ latest pre-season friendly comes less than 48 hours after their dramatic penalty shootout victory over Birkirkara in the UEFA Europa League and matches them up against Sky Bet Championship opposition for the first time this summer.
The first team’s other friendlies have seen them draw 3-3 with Peterborough United and defeat Southend United by the odd goal in five and a healthy contingent of senior players will be on show at The Valley.
Charlton have had a packed schedule so far in pre-season, and Saturday’s match will be their seventh friendly.
Previous results include a 2-0 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge and a win by the same scoreline at Welling United. A trip to Belgium saw the Addicks lose 1-0 to KRC Genk and 4-0 to Sint-Truiden.
The history
West Ham and Charlton have been regular opponents over the years, although this will be the Hammers’ first trip to The Valley since 2007.
In all, the two teams have faced off 40 times in competitive action, with West Ham leading the head-to-head by 16 to 14.
The Addicks have been outside the top flight since 2007, and dropped down to League One two years later, but bounced back to their current level in 2012.
Charlton had a season-and-a-half as tenants at the Boleyn Ground in the early 1990s with their Valley home out of use, but they returned to south east London in 1992.
The match
Team news
West Ham United
Slaven Bilic will continue to mix his squad with a heavy schedule over pre-season, so the first team stars who missed out at Birkirkara are likely to feature at Charlton.
That means new signings Dimitri Payet and Angelo Ogbonna are set to be involved, with the likes of Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho and former Charlton keeper Darren Randolph also at Bilic’s disposal.
Charlton Athletic
Addicks boss Guy Luzon has added three new players to his squad this week, with Ahmed Kashi, Cristian Ceballos and Zakarya Bergdich all making their way to The Valley.
Rhoys Wiggins is doubtful after picking up an ankle injury, while former Hammers goalkeeper Stephen Henderson is also a doubt.
Match facts
- West Ham have played two friendlies so far this summer, alongside their four UEFA Europa League games, and have a win and a draw to their credit.
- Darren Randolph and Diego Poyet both played for Charlton at the start of their careers, the latter winning the Addicks’ Player of the Year award in 2013/14.
- The Addicks’ Stephen Henderson spent two years as a West Ham player between 2012-14, making two appearances for the Club in the League Cup.
- The Valley seats 27,111 and has been Charlton’s home in two spells, between 1919-1985 and from 1992 onwards.
Tickets, travel, weather and coverage
- Directions to The Valley can be found here.
- The Jubilee line serving North Greenwich has no planned disruption on its eastern end, while Southeastern trains serving Charlton from London Bridge are also scheduled to be running as planned.
- Tickets for the game are priced at £10 Adults and £5 Concessions.
- Friday’s rain should have cleared by the time the game kicks-off, with sunny intervals forecast for Saturday afternoon. Temperatues will reach 19C (66F)
- Head to whufc.com for live text commentary, photos and more, while you can get involved on our social media channels.