Watford v Charlton
A fixture at Watford on Saturday (3pm) represents Charlton's final chance to fine-tune their plans for the new season.
After Phil Parkinson named a mostly youthful side in Wednesday's 2-0 pre-season win at Bromley, the Addicks boss is likely to turn to his more senior players for the trip to Hertfordshire in Charlton's last summer sharpener.
And he'll be looking for an improvement on their slightly lacklustre showing in last weekend's 1-0 defeat to League Two Barnet at Underhill - a ground not a million miles away from Watford's home stadium.
The likes of Yado Mambo, Lewis Perkins, Tamer Tuna and Ben Davisson were given a chance to shine at Bromley's Hayes Lane, with Miguel Llera and triallist goalkeeper Andy Marshall the most experienced players on show.
The youngsters could well be involved in some capacity at Vicarage Road, but Parkinson is likely to start with more established first-team names against the Hornets in Charlton's final pre-season friendly before the beginning of the League One campaign against AFC Bournemouth at The Valley seven days later.
That means stars such as Rob Elliot, Chris Solly, Gary Doherty, Christian Dailly and Johnnie Jackson could get the nod in defence, while triallist James Mulley, ex-Addick Jonathan Fortune, who has been training with the club, Llera and Mambo may also play some part.
Dailly had been struggling with a slight foot injury picked up in the loss at Barnet, but an X-ray gave him the all-clear and he trained on Thursday.
Kelly Youga is making progress on his long-term knee injury but is definitely out of Saturday's game, while four from Scott Wagstaff, Therry Racon, Stavrinou, Jose Semedo, Alan McCormack, Davisson and Kyel Reid are possibilities for midfield.
Akpo Sodje remains the only senior striker currently on Charlton's books, and the frontman could be partnered by triallists Guillem Bouza or Gunnar Thorvaldsson. Perkins and Tuna are likely to be on the bench.
After the game with Barnet, Parkinson was asked for his views on the Hornets, with the manager responding: "Watford will be another challenge for us. It will be different to today as I think they'll be slightly more attacking in their formation."
Championship side Watford's pre-season schedule has also included a 1-0 away defeat at Barnet, while the Hornets have recorded a 5-0 win over Boreham Wood and a 2-0 victory at St Albans City.
A 3-3 draw with Northampton Town was followed by a 2-0 win over Stevenage Borough on Tuesday night, while a Hornets XI triumphed 3-1 at Wealdstone 24 hours later.
The Addicks last travelled to Vicarage Road on August 16th, 2008, the visitors leaving empty-handed after Tommy Smith's 28th-minute goal proved decisive, with Youga also seeing red for a professional foul on the stroke of half-time.
When the sides met at The Valley later that season, Tresor Kandol's brace - his only two goals in his loan spell at the club - turned things round after Don Cowie's opener.
But goals from Grzegorz Rasiak and Priskin swung the match back in Watford's favour and gave the Hornets a 3-2 win.
Prior to the trip to Vicarage Road, the previous four meetings between the two sides had all ended in draws. The Hornets fought back from 2-0 down to earn a point at The Valley in February, just over a month after Darren Ambrose's strike had secured Charlton a 1-1 draw in Hertfordshire.
Ambrose also netted in the 2-2 draw, opening the scoring before a Danny Shittu own goal made it 2-0. Shittu made amends, though, grabbing the equaliser a minute after John-Joe O'Toole had scored.
Before then, Watford held the Addicks to a 0-0 Premier League stalemate in SE7, before a 2-2 draw at Vicarage Road. Ambrose again scored late on to snatch a point after Luke Young had pulled one back for the Addicks following first-half goals by Hameur Bouazza - a former Addicks loanee - and Damien Francis.
The first encounter between the teams also ended 2-2 on November 5th, 1921, with goals from Alex Steele and Billy Cox securing the Addicks a point at Watford's old Cassio Road in the Third Division (South).
The Hertfordshire side also managed an FA Cup triumph in SE7 in January 1984. In all, Charlton have won 20 competitive games to Watford's 18, with 22 draws.
The teams also met in Hertfordshire in the pre-season of 2005 - July 30th, to be precise - when a penalty from Francis Jeffers and a free-kick from Danny Murphy gave Charlton a 2-1 win. Marlon King notched Watford's consolation.
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