Pick of the stats: Charlton Athletic v Derby County

Charlton and Derby get their new Championship season under way with a meeting at The Valley on Saturday (15:00 BST). The Addicks, who began the campaign with an EFL Cup win at Cheltenham last weekend, are unbeaten in seven seasons on the opening day, winning five of those games, most recently 1-0 at home to Watford last year. The Rams exited the EFL Cup at home to Lincoln and have seen a proposed takeover fall through in recent days while their 3-1 defeat at Stoke last season was their third straight defeat on the opening day. Charlton Athletic have lost their past two home league games against Derby, only losing more consecutively between December 1946 and May 1951 (5). Derby County have lost just one of their previous five league meetings with Charlton Athletic (W3 D1); a 2-1 defeat in February 2024. Charlton lost five of their final eight league games last season (W1 D2), while only Sheffield Wednesday (12.7%) spent a lower proportion of their games in a winning position than the Addicks (16.5%) in the Championship last term. Derby lost six of their final eight away games last season (W2), though did win their most recent match at QPR in April (3-2). Carlton Morris' 12 league goals for Derby last season was his second-most in a single campaign in the top four tiers, behind his 20 for Luton Town in 2022-23; five of his goals in 2025-26 came from corners, more than anybody else. [BBC]