Charlton Athletic's October opposition under the microscope - including fixture difficulty ratings

Expert insight into the upcoming clashes against Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich Town and Hull City

Two months down, seven months left to go.

And so far the Championship season has been enjoyable for Charlton Athletic.

But what will the month of October bring?

Here we take a look in more depth at the teams that the Addicks are set to take on - Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich Town and Hull City.

That includes speaking to the reporters covering those teams to get the lowdown on their biggest attacking threat, the player tipped to be the next top talent as well as providing an assessment on their start to the season.

Picture: Kyle Andrews

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Thierry Small, pictured having a shot against Stevenage last season, signed for Preston North End in the summer

Picture: Keith Gillard

OCTOBER 4TH

PRESTON NORTH END A (3pm)

Current league position: Seventh

Top scorer in the league: Milutin Osmajic (three)

Significant transfers in (£ denotes fee paid): Odeluga Offiah (Brighton, £), Thierry Small (Charlton, £), Daniel Iversen (Leicester, free), Jordan Thompson (Stoke, free), Alfie Devine (Tottenham, loan), Lewis Dobbin (Aston Villa, loan), Daniel Jebbison (Bournemouth, loan), Pol Valentin (Sheffield Wednesday, free), Harrison Armstrong (Everton, loan), Andrija Vukcevic (FC Juarez, free)

Significant transfers out: Jack Whatmough (Huddersfield, £), Emil Riis (Bristol City, free), Freddie Woodman (Liverpool, free), Ryan Ledson (Huddersfield, free), Kian Best (Chelsea, free), Patrick Bauer (AFC Wimbledon, free)

The boss:

Paul Heckingbottom.

The 48-year-old has been at the helm since August 2024. He has won promotion out of League One - via the play-offs - with Barnsley in 2016 and also guided Sheffield United to runners-up spot in the Championship in 2023.