TEAM NEWS | One change as Washington returns to starting XI

Conor Washington returns to the Charlton starting XI for this afternoon’s Sky Bet League One clash against Crewe Alexandra at The Valley (3pm) as Nigel Adkins makes one change.

The Northern Irishman replaces George Dobson, who drops out of the matchday 18, while new signing Elliot Lee features on the bench after joining the Addicks on a season-long loan move on Thursday.

Craig MacGillivray starts in goal after a man of the match performance against the Latics last weekend, with Adam Matthews, Ryan Inniss, Akin Famewo and Chris Gunter forming the back four in front of the Scotsman. Ben Watson and Albie Morgan start in central midfield, with Charlie Kirk and Diallang Jaiyesimi featuring out wide, looking to provide service to the returning Washington and captain Jayden Stockley.

Lee is joined on the bench by Nathan Harness, Deji Elerewe, Jason Pearce, Sean Clare, Corey Blackett-Taylor and Josh Davison.

Speaking on his team selection, Adkins told CharltonTV: “Conor Washington is going to start the game just behind Jayden Stockley, which I think is important. It’s probably the first real opportunity we’ve had to do that with Kirky [Charlie Kirk] being on the left side, [Diallang] Jaiyesimi on the right hand side.

“For me we’re getting the ball in the attacking third - can we get more bodies in the box? Can we get more quality into the box? Those two are going to partner themselves up, mindful that a very good Crewe side will want to play out from the back. They’ll want to play through and they’ll have a lot of possession, so we’ve just got to be mindful that we can actually cope with that as well from a midfield point of view.”

Charlton: MacGillivray; Matthews, Inniss, Famewo, Gunter; Jaiyesimi, Watson, Morgan, Kirk; Stockley (c), Washington

Subs: Harness, Elerewe, Pearce, Clare, Blackett-Taylor, Lee, Davison

Supporters in the UK and Ireland can listen to live commentary of the game on CharltonTV from Terry Smith, Greg Stubley and Steve Brown. Click here to purchase your pass.

Supporters outside the UK and Ireland can purchase a live streaming pass for the game by clicking here.

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