Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit drops Charlton Athletic v Watford score prediction | OneFootball

Lee Hendrie has weighed in on the outcome of this weekend's EFL Championship opener between Watford and Charlton Athletic

The 2025/26 EFL Championship gets underway this weekend, and for Charlton Athletic, it's their first taste of football in the second tier since July 2020's 4-0 defeat against Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United.

After five seasons away, the Addicks are back in the Championship under Nathan Jones, and, unlike most sides who come up through the League One play-offs, will be coming into the new campaign quietly confident that they can stay up comfortably, following an impressive summer transfer window so far.

They'll also come into this weekend's opener against Watford with the belief that they can take all three points, as the Hornets were statistically the worst team in the Championship in 2025, picking up just five wins and 20 points in 23 games post-December.

Tom Cleverley was sacked as a result, with Paulo Pezzolano brought in to replace him, their sixth new manager since their relegation from the Premier League in May 2022.

Both sides will be looking to get off the mark early, and it'll lead to a game that will ultimately be very difficult to call.

Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie believes that the points will be shared on Saturday lunchtime.

Lee Hendrie gives his Charlton Athletic vs Watford prediction

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie feels that this weekend's matchup between Charlton and Watford does not have a clear winner.

"I think Charlton will be very hard to break down and will be very well organised, as they usually are [under Nathan Jones]," he said.

"It'll also be interesting to see how Watford line up and how they go about things.

"I think this will be a very tight and cagey game. I'll go 1-1 on this one."

Charlton Athletic could see an opening day win propel them to a solid first season back

Charlton haven't shied away in this summer's transfer window, making a number of signings which show their intent of remaining in the Championship past this season.

Most of these arrivals have made their name in League One, however, and there may be some question marks over whether the likes of Charlie Kelman, Rob Apter and Tanto Olaofe can handle the step-up into the second tier.

Nathan Jones will see an opening day home match against an enigmatic Watford side as a positive. Not many people can predict how well the Hornets will do this season following a campaign which started incredibly before falling off a cliff in 2025, so Jones and Charlton will have more opportunity to just focus on themselves and their own performance.

For a newly promoted side, getting points on the board as quickly as possible is imperative, and a win against Watford will fill the Addicks with confidence ahead of the new campaign.

However, this Watford side has a lot of quality in its ranks and will be eager to put the latter half of the 2024/25 season behind them.