MATCH PREVIEW: Cambridge United vs Charlton Athletic - Tuesday 26th August 2025 - 7:30pm Kick-Off

ForeverAddickted

League Cup - Second Round
Cambridge United vs Charlton Athletic
Tuesday 26th August 2025 - 7:30pm Kick-Off
Referee: David Rock

Introduction
EFL Championship action grounds to a halt once more this coming Tuesday. The Addicks return to League Cup action this midweek having despatched League One: Stevenage with a convincing 3-1 victory, courtesy of goals from Miles Leaburn, Luke Berry and Ibrahim Fullah, with the latter not looking out of place in Senior Football...

The Opposition
Name: Cambridge United - Manager: Neil Harris
Division: League Two
Last Round: Bristol Rovers 0-2 Cambridge United

This Tuesday is an opportunity to right the wrongs from our Pre-Season clash with Cambridge United, which ended all square last month... Our opponents tomorrow, reached this round of the competition with a 2-0 win over fellow League Two side: Bristol Rovers, and is their fifth appearance at this stage of the League Cup, since returning from the National League in 2014-15... Cambridge have failed to reach the third round on each of those occasions.

In terms of 2025/26 and this is a season where Cambridge will be looking to bounce back from relegation last season, four years were spent in League One, so Neil Harris will be looking to engineer an instant return to the third tier of English Football. The season so far has yielded inconstant results, Cambridge sit 13th with seven points (Having played a game more than those sides in the Championship), and have two wins, one defeat and a draw. Their last outing in League action, came on Saturday, a 2-1 win at Colchester United.

Charlton Team News
Once again you'd expect Nathan Jones to wring the changes between cup and league football, so we should expect to see Ibrahim Fullah in the starting eleven once more, especially as he was named in the twenty man squad for the visit of Leicester City on Saturday.

Elsewhere and you'd expect starts for Tanto Olaofe and Charlie Kelman, with both having to settle for cameos on Saturday, and both will be going into this match, hoping to get off the mark with their first goals for the club. One question mark in the side surrounds the gap left by Alex Mitchell... the Centre-Back faced Stevenage in the last round, yet has since departed on a season long loan to Plymouth Argyle, is this the ideal opportunity for Reece Burke to gain valuable minutes, in what has been an injury hit start to his Charlton career.

Maynard-Brewer
Burke - Mitchell - Gillesphey
Rylah - Costello - Anderson - Fullah
Knibbs
Kelman - Olaofe

Substitutes: Reid - Berry - Docherty - Apter - Enslin - Laqeretabua - Leaburn - Mwamba - Mbick

clive

Kick-off 7.30 pm

RonnieMoore

ForeverAddickted said:

League Cup - Second Round
Cambridge United vs Charlton Athletic
Tuesday 26th August 2025 - 7:30pm Kick-Off
Referee: David Rock

Introduction
EFL Championship action grounds to a halt once more this coming Tuesday. The Addicks return to League Cup action this midweek having despatched League One: Stevenage with a convincing 3-1 victory, courtesy of goals from Miles Leaburn, Luke Berry and Ibrahim Fullah, with the latter not looking out of place in Senior Football...

The Opposition
Name: Cambridge United - Manager: Neil Harris
Division: League Two
Last Round: Bristol Rovers 0-2 Cambridge United

This Tuesday is an opportunity to right the wrongs from our Pre-Season clash with Cambridge United, which ended all square last month... Our opponents tomorrow, reached this round of the competition with a 2-0 win over fellow League Two side: Bristol Rovers, and is their fifth appearance at this stage of the League Cup, since returning from the National League in 2014-15... Cambridge have failed to reach the third round on each of those occasions.

In terms of 2025/26 and this is a season where Cambridge will be looking to bounce back from relegation last season, four years were spent in League One, so Neil Harris will be looking to engineer an instant return to the third tier of English Football. The season so far has yielded inconstant results, Cambridge sit 13th with seven points (Having played a game more than those sides in the Championship), and have two wins, one defeat and a draw. Their last outing in League action, came on Saturday, a 2-1 win at Colchester United.

Charlton Team News
Once again you'd expect Nathan Jones to wring the changes between cup and league football, so we should expect to see Ibrahim Fullah in the starting eleven once more, especially as he was named in the twenty man squad for the visit of Leicester City on Saturday.

Elsewhere and you'd expect starts for Tanto Olaofe and Charlie Kelman, with both having to settle for cameos on Saturday, and both will be going into this match, hoping to get off the mark with their first goals for the club. One question mark in the side surrounds the gap left by Alex Mitchell... the Centre-Back faced Stevenage in the last round, yet has since departed on a season long loan to Plymouth Argyle, is this the ideal opportunity for Reece Burke to gain valuable minutes, in what has been an injury hit start to his Charlton career.

Maynard-Brewer
Burke - Mitchell - Gillesphey
Rylah - Costello - Anderson - Fullah
Knibbs
Kelman - Olaofe

Substitutes: Reid - Berry - Docherty - Apter - Enslin - Laqeretabua - Leaburn - Mwamba - Mbick

Berry if fit will start … 

RonnieMoore

And Mannion will be in goal 

Scoham

Team is roughly what I’d expect. I’d like to see Fullah at RWB though to give Enslin a game at LWB.

fenaddick

U21s playing tomorrow afternoon so we'll get some vague ideas there, can't really do two games in a day when one's in SE7 and the other is in Cambridge

killerandflash

Burke in the middle and Zach at right CB is how I'd play them. Laq deserves a start too.

wmcf123

killerandflash said:

Burke in the middle and Zach at right CB is how I'd play them. Laq deserves a start too.

Burke better on the ball , perhaps .  Like to see what Zach can do in the middle . 

NabySarr

killerandflash said:

Burke in the middle and Zach at right CB is how I'd play them. Laq deserves a start too.

I’m sure Burke won’t do a full game, maybe only half, so Laq will get some minutes I’d assume 

RedJohn

Want to see more game time for both Fullah and Mwamba.

BigDiddy

Need our new strikers to get some time and goals, hopefully.

Nadou

On Sky again but not on Charlton TV?

wolfgang

Scoham said:

I’d like to see Fullah at RWB though to give Enslin a game at LWB.

This.

wolfgang

Hope to see Charlie "Kirk" Kelman get a couple.

redbuttle

wolfgang said:

Hope to see Charlie "Kirk" Kelman get a couple.

Thats very harsh and unfair.

stoneroses19

wolfgang said:

Hope to see Charlie "Kirk" Kelman get a couple.

Unnecessary dig at Kelman with that.

BigDiddy

wolfgang said:

Hope to see Charlie "Kirk" Kelman get a couple.

After 3 games ? 

Lincsaddick

some of the squad who are getting little game time will be playing, so it could be a chance for our non performing strikers to get some proper shots in, although Cambridge U are not too shabby .. narrow win

Southbank

Anybody know how to watch this outside of England? Sky is not available.

CharltonKerry

Southbank said:

Anybody know how to watch this outside of England? Sky is not available.

If you got a VPN my brother tells me it’s being shown on Australia but I can’t tell you which channel as he didn’t tell me

eastterrace6168

CharltonKerry said:

Southbank said:

Anybody know how to watch this outside of England? Sky is not available.

If you got a VPN my brother tells me it’s being shown on Australia but I can’t tell you which channel as he didn’t tell me

Bit of a tease is he!!

RonnieMoore

wolfgang said:

Hope to see Charlie "Kirk" Kelman get a couple.

Ridiculous comment …. 

letthegoodtimesroll

ForeverAddickted said:

League Cup - Second Round
Cambridge United vs Charlton Athletic
Tuesday 26th August 2025 - 7:30pm Kick-Off
Referee: David Rock

Introduction
EFL Championship action grounds to a halt once more this coming Tuesday. The Addicks return to League Cup action this midweek having despatched League One: Stevenage with a convincing 3-1 victory, courtesy of goals from Miles Leaburn, Luke Berry and Ibrahim Fullah, with the latter not looking out of place in Senior Football...

The Opposition
Name: Cambridge United - Manager: Neil Harris
Division: League Two
Last Round: Bristol Rovers 0-2 Cambridge United

This Tuesday is an opportunity to right the wrongs from our Pre-Season clash with Cambridge United, which ended all square last month... Our opponents tomorrow, reached this round of the competition with a 2-0 win over fellow League Two side: Bristol Rovers, and is their fifth appearance at this stage of the League Cup, since returning from the National League in 2014-15... Cambridge have failed to reach the third round on each of those occasions.

In terms of 2025/26 and this is a season where Cambridge will be looking to bounce back from relegation last season, four years were spent in League One, so Neil Harris will be looking to engineer an instant return to the third tier of English Football. The season so far has yielded inconstant results, Cambridge sit 13th with seven points (Having played a game more than those sides in the Championship), and have two wins, one defeat and a draw. Their last outing in League action, came on Saturday, a 2-1 win at Colchester United.

Charlton Team News
Once again you'd expect Nathan Jones to wring the changes between cup and league football, so we should expect to see Ibrahim Fullah in the starting eleven once more, especially as he was named in the twenty man squad for the visit of Leicester City on Saturday.

Elsewhere and you'd expect starts for Tanto Olaofe and Charlie Kelman, with both having to settle for cameos on Saturday, and both will be going into this match, hoping to get off the mark with their first goals for the club. One question mark in the side surrounds the gap left by Alex Mitchell... the Centre-Back faced Stevenage in the last round, yet has since departed on a season long loan to Plymouth Argyle, is this the ideal opportunity for Reece Burke to gain valuable minutes, in what has been an injury hit start to his Charlton career.

Maynard-Brewer
Burke - Mitchell - Gillesphey
Rylah - Costello - Anderson - Fullah
Knibbs
Kelman - Olaofe

Substitutes: Reid - Berry - Docherty - Apter - Enslin - Laqeretabua - Leaburn - Mwamba - Mbick

Must admit that looks like a great line up but anything that doesn’t resemble our Championship starting eleven doesn’t help the primary objective and that is the Championship match on Saturday. Learn the lessons from last season, what fucked up our form and had us staring at the relegation spots was inconsistency in the lineup and what turned it around and got us to the play offs and promotion was consistency in the starting eleven.

Kap10

wolfgang said:

Hope to see Charlie "Kirk" Kelman get a couple.

Presumably this time last season it was Matt " Kirk" Godden

BigDiddy

wolfgang said:

Hope to see Charlie "Kirk" Kelman get a couple.

You remind me of some “fans” that sat near me in the East Stand when we were in the premiership under Curbs - after a few seasons in the top half, they started calling for Curbs to go because they knew best. We know what happened after Curbs left.

Back to you and fans like you - what do you really expect of the club?

I wanted Appleton out and a year ago, I doubted that NJ was the man, but look at what he did after the Crawley result. 

Kelman may well prove to be a bad buy, but whining fans will not help - he needs s chance.

Some fans are never satisfied and that is why I compare your to the idiots that we’re abusing Curbs all those years ago.

Personally, we will do well to stay up this year and we should get behind the team - you included.

Southbank

letthegoodtimesroll said:

ForeverAddickted said:

League Cup - Second Round
Cambridge United vs Charlton Athletic
Tuesday 26th August 2025 - 7:30pm Kick-Off
Referee: David Rock

Introduction
EFL Championship action grounds to a halt once more this coming Tuesday. The Addicks return to League Cup action this midweek having despatched League One: Stevenage with a convincing 3-1 victory, courtesy of goals from Miles Leaburn, Luke Berry and Ibrahim Fullah, with the latter not looking out of place in Senior Football...

The Opposition
Name: Cambridge United - Manager: Neil Harris
Division: League Two
Last Round: Bristol Rovers 0-2 Cambridge United

This Tuesday is an opportunity to right the wrongs from our Pre-Season clash with Cambridge United, which ended all square last month... Our opponents tomorrow, reached this round of the competition with a 2-0 win over fellow League Two side: Bristol Rovers, and is their fifth appearance at this stage of the League Cup, since returning from the National League in 2014-15... Cambridge have failed to reach the third round on each of those occasions.

In terms of 2025/26 and this is a season where Cambridge will be looking to bounce back from relegation last season, four years were spent in League One, so Neil Harris will be looking to engineer an instant return to the third tier of English Football. The season so far has yielded inconstant results, Cambridge sit 13th with seven points (Having played a game more than those sides in the Championship), and have two wins, one defeat and a draw. Their last outing in League action, came on Saturday, a 2-1 win at Colchester United.

Charlton Team News
Once again you'd expect Nathan Jones to wring the changes between cup and league football, so we should expect to see Ibrahim Fullah in the starting eleven once more, especially as he was named in the twenty man squad for the visit of Leicester City on Saturday.

Elsewhere and you'd expect starts for Tanto Olaofe and Charlie Kelman, with both having to settle for cameos on Saturday, and both will be going into this match, hoping to get off the mark with their first goals for the club. One question mark in the side surrounds the gap left by Alex Mitchell... the Centre-Back faced Stevenage in the last round, yet has since departed on a season long loan to Plymouth Argyle, is this the ideal opportunity for Reece Burke to gain valuable minutes, in what has been an injury hit start to his Charlton career.

Maynard-Brewer
Burke - Mitchell - Gillesphey
Rylah - Costello - Anderson - Fullah
Knibbs
Kelman - Olaofe

Substitutes: Reid - Berry - Docherty - Apter - Enslin - Laqeretabua - Leaburn - Mwamba - Mbick

Must admit that looks like a great line up but anything that doesn’t resemble our Championship starting eleven doesn’t help the primary objective and that is the Championship match on Saturday. Learn the lessons from last season, what fucked up our form and had us staring at the relegation spots was inconsistency in the lineup and what turned it around and got us to the play offs and promotion was consistency in the starting eleven.

We have been very consistent in the League starting 11. This is a different competition and an opportunity to create competition for places, get players match fit and give our youngsters an opportunity. The latter has already paid off by showing that Fullah may be able to make a step up this season . I doubt the starting 11 on Saturday will be much different from last week, except maybe up front because NJ has not quite worked out his best front 4.

RonnieMoore

BigDiddy said:

wolfgang said:

Hope to see Charlie "Kirk" Kelman get a couple.

You remind me of some “fans” that sat near me in the East Stand when we were in the premiership under Curbs - after a few seasons in the top half, they started calling for Curbs to go because they knew best. We know what happened after Curbs left.

Back to you and fans like you - what do you really expect of the club?

I wanted Appleton out and a year ago, I doubted that NJ was the man, but look at what he did after the Crawley result. 

Kelman may well prove to be a bad buy, but whining fans will not help - he needs s chance.

Some fans are never satisfied and that is why I compare your to the idiots that we’re abusing Curbs all those years ago.

Personally, we will do well to stay up this year and we should get behind the team - you included.

The bloke not even getting any chances ? but it’s mirror image of Godden this time last season when people were slagging the club of for spending money on an old man .. 

Talal

letthegoodtimesroll said:

ForeverAddickted said:

League Cup - Second Round
Cambridge United vs Charlton Athletic
Tuesday 26th August 2025 - 7:30pm Kick-Off
Referee: David Rock

Introduction
EFL Championship action grounds to a halt once more this coming Tuesday. The Addicks return to League Cup action this midweek having despatched League One: Stevenage with a convincing 3-1 victory, courtesy of goals from Miles Leaburn, Luke Berry and Ibrahim Fullah, with the latter not looking out of place in Senior Football...

The Opposition
Name: Cambridge United - Manager: Neil Harris
Division: League Two
Last Round: Bristol Rovers 0-2 Cambridge United

This Tuesday is an opportunity to right the wrongs from our Pre-Season clash with Cambridge United, which ended all square last month... Our opponents tomorrow, reached this round of the competition with a 2-0 win over fellow League Two side: Bristol Rovers, and is their fifth appearance at this stage of the League Cup, since returning from the National League in 2014-15... Cambridge have failed to reach the third round on each of those occasions.

In terms of 2025/26 and this is a season where Cambridge will be looking to bounce back from relegation last season, four years were spent in League One, so Neil Harris will be looking to engineer an instant return to the third tier of English Football. The season so far has yielded inconstant results, Cambridge sit 13th with seven points (Having played a game more than those sides in the Championship), and have two wins, one defeat and a draw. Their last outing in League action, came on Saturday, a 2-1 win at Colchester United.

Charlton Team News
Once again you'd expect Nathan Jones to wring the changes between cup and league football, so we should expect to see Ibrahim Fullah in the starting eleven once more, especially as he was named in the twenty man squad for the visit of Leicester City on Saturday.

Elsewhere and you'd expect starts for Tanto Olaofe and Charlie Kelman, with both having to settle for cameos on Saturday, and both will be going into this match, hoping to get off the mark with their first goals for the club. One question mark in the side surrounds the gap left by Alex Mitchell... the Centre-Back faced Stevenage in the last round, yet has since departed on a season long loan to Plymouth Argyle, is this the ideal opportunity for Reece Burke to gain valuable minutes, in what has been an injury hit start to his Charlton career.

Maynard-Brewer
Burke - Mitchell - Gillesphey
Rylah - Costello - Anderson - Fullah
Knibbs
Kelman - Olaofe

Substitutes: Reid - Berry - Docherty - Apter - Enslin - Laqeretabua - Leaburn - Mwamba - Mbick

Must admit that looks like a great line up but anything that doesn’t resemble our Championship starting eleven doesn’t help the primary objective and that is the Championship match on Saturday. Learn the lessons from last season, what fucked up our form and had us staring at the relegation spots was inconsistency in the lineup and what turned it around and got us to the play offs and promotion was consistency in the starting eleven.

If there was a two week break I'd be inclined to agree but playing Saturday to Saturday I don't see an issue. Doesn't make sense to me to tire the first teamers out more and risk injury in these games when we play again in four days.

killerandflash

Miles and TC were really tired by the time they went off on Saturday, so I definitely wouldn't start them. It makes more sense to rotate the strikers to give them all game time.

fenaddick

killerandflash said:

Miles and TC were really tired by the time they went off on Saturday, so I definitely wouldn't start them. It makes more sense to rotate the strikers to give them all game time.

I don't want TC anywhere near the squad, he looks dead on his feet already. He had a much shorter break than the rest of our squad

gringo

Talal said:

letthegoodtimesroll said:

ForeverAddickted said:

League Cup - Second Round
Cambridge United vs Charlton Athletic
Tuesday 26th August 2025 - 7:30pm Kick-Off
Referee: David Rock

Introduction
EFL Championship action grounds to a halt once more this coming Tuesday. The Addicks return to League Cup action this midweek having despatched League One: Stevenage with a convincing 3-1 victory, courtesy of goals from Miles Leaburn, Luke Berry and Ibrahim Fullah, with the latter not looking out of place in Senior Football...

The Opposition
Name: Cambridge United - Manager: Neil Harris
Division: League Two
Last Round: Bristol Rovers 0-2 Cambridge United

This Tuesday is an opportunity to right the wrongs from our Pre-Season clash with Cambridge United, which ended all square last month... Our opponents tomorrow, reached this round of the competition with a 2-0 win over fellow League Two side: Bristol Rovers, and is their fifth appearance at this stage of the League Cup, since returning from the National League in 2014-15... Cambridge have failed to reach the third round on each of those occasions.

In terms of 2025/26 and this is a season where Cambridge will be looking to bounce back from relegation last season, four years were spent in League One, so Neil Harris will be looking to engineer an instant return to the third tier of English Football. The season so far has yielded inconstant results, Cambridge sit 13th with seven points (Having played a game more than those sides in the Championship), and have two wins, one defeat and a draw. Their last outing in League action, came on Saturday, a 2-1 win at Colchester United.

Charlton Team News
Once again you'd expect Nathan Jones to wring the changes between cup and league football, so we should expect to see Ibrahim Fullah in the starting eleven once more, especially as he was named in the twenty man squad for the visit of Leicester City on Saturday.

Elsewhere and you'd expect starts for Tanto Olaofe and Charlie Kelman, with both having to settle for cameos on Saturday, and both will be going into this match, hoping to get off the mark with their first goals for the club. One question mark in the side surrounds the gap left by Alex Mitchell... the Centre-Back faced Stevenage in the last round, yet has since departed on a season long loan to Plymouth Argyle, is this the ideal opportunity for Reece Burke to gain valuable minutes, in what has been an injury hit start to his Charlton career.

Maynard-Brewer
Burke - Mitchell - Gillesphey
Rylah - Costello - Anderson - Fullah
Knibbs
Kelman - Olaofe

Substitutes: Reid - Berry - Docherty - Apter - Enslin - Laqeretabua - Leaburn - Mwamba - Mbick

Must admit that looks like a great line up but anything that doesn’t resemble our Championship starting eleven doesn’t help the primary objective and that is the Championship match on Saturday. Learn the lessons from last season, what fucked up our form and had us staring at the relegation spots was inconsistency in the lineup and what turned it around and got us to the play offs and promotion was consistency in the starting eleven.

If there was a two week break I'd be inclined to agree but playing Saturday to Saturday I don't see an issue. Doesn't make sense to me to tire the first teamers out more and risk injury in these games when we play again in four days.

and its the reason we have a squad.