It’s fair to say that it had been an entertaining start to the 2024/25 season in League One, with plenty of drama, goals, and shocks after the opening two weekends. As the third game week of the season draws nearer, we look ahead to some of the League One action to keep your eyes peeled for this weekend.
From Mansfield Town’s opening-day shock victory and Barnsley to Charlton Athletic’s last-gasp, London derby winner against Leyton Orient, there certainly are already an abundance of talking points heading into the third round of fixtures. In this article we will highlight three games that we think you should look out for, and feel free to give us your thoughts ahead of the weekend’s football action in the comments!
1. Fresh Start For Blackpool
Following an underwhelming start to the season that included two defeats against newly-promoted clubs, including an embarrassing 0-3 defeat at home to Stockport County last time out, Blackpool decided to part ways with manager Neil Critchley, after his second managerial spell at the club.
Vastly experienced defender Richard Keogh will take up the role as Blackpool head coach on an interim basis, and the Tangerines head south to play another team that has been winless from their opening two matches, Cambridge United. The U’s are still looking for their first goal of the league campaign and will be hoping that Blackpool continue their poor away form from last season on Saturday.
So a big day for Blackpool who start life without Neil Critchley for the second time this weekend, a club that will feel that they are too big to be playing their football in the third tier, and will hope to see a turnaround in fortunes on the pitch.
2. Big Match At The Valley
Two successive 1-0 league wins have seen Charlton Athletic get a lot of plaudits for their defensive structure and stability, after impressive shut-outs against Wigan Athletic and Leyton Orient. The Addicks are one of four League One teams with a 100 percent record, and will look to keep that run going when they welcome one of the promotion favourites, Bolton Wanderers, to The Valley on Saturday afternoon.
Ian Evatt’s side started the season with an unconvincing 1-2 victory at Leyton Orient on the opening day, in a game where goalkeeper Nathan Baxter made several impressive saves to help his side get three points. Last week’s stalemate with Wrexham however perhaps underlined a few early-season nerves for Bolton however, who will be desperate to secure promotion after coming so close last year. They are a team normally known for frequent goalscoring, and their attackers will have to be at their very best to break down a solid Charlton backline.
3. Opposites Attract
Two sides with completely opposite starts to the season meet at The John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as recently relegated Huddersfield Town play host to Shrewsbury Town. The Terriers come into this one with two wins from two in the league and progression to the second round of the Carabao Cup, the most impressive victory being a 0-2 away win at Peterborough United, who also will have promotion ambitions to get back to The Championship this season.
In complete contrast, Shrewsbury Town have lost both of their opening games and sit bottom of the early season standings, after a humbling 1-4 defeat on their own patch which coincidentally, came at the hands of Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough. The Shrews are now winless in 11 competitive matches, a run that stretches back to the end of March last season, and will be desperate to secure three points sooner rather than later, although that may be an uphill battle against their inform hosts this weekend.
So there are our three fixtures to look out for in League One this weekend. As ever, let us know in the comments your thoughts on your club ahead of the weekend matches! From everyone at The Real EFL, we hope you have a fantastic weekend!
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