By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
West Ham United v Charlton Athletic
EFL Championship
London Stadium
Saturday 22 August 2026, 3pm BST
A very important game for West Ham
This is a very, very important game for West Ham.
If the Hammers win well, with good performances from Jarrod Bowen and perhaps some of our new signings, many of the concerns from the past week will largely be washed away.
We would then head into the final week of the transfer window with some optimism about the season as a whole, rather than the conversation being dominated entirely by signings.
Lose this game, however, and it would heap an immense amount of pressure on Nuno Espírito Santo and the running of the club. Everyone from Daniel Křetínský and Nils Koppen to the manager himself would come under negative scrutiny.
A sold-out crowd of 62,500 will attend West Ham’s first home Championship fixture of the season, including 3K plus travelling Charlton supporters. Once again, the fans have done their bit. Now the team must do theirs.
Nuno must abandon his safety-first approach
West Ham began the campaign with a 2-2 draw at Burnley, but that doesn’t begin to tell the story.
The Hammers led 2-0 before retreating, inviting pressure and allowing Burnley to rescue a point. As I wrote following the game, West Ham blew the lead after Nuno parked the bus.
What Nuno needs to change is quite simple: he must stop adopting that safety-first, pragmatic mentality when West Ham are leading.
Unfortunately, this isn’t merely a reaction to Burnley. It is a characteristic that appears to be baked into his DNA.
Championship teams must never be allowed to believe they are still in the game against West Ham. If the Hammers get ahead on Saturday, Nuno’s players must continue attacking rather than attempting to protect what they have.
Engels looks set to make his debut for West Ham against Charlton
Charlton’s danger man
Charlton arrive in east London after beating Derby County 2-1 on the opening weekend.
Growing up, I always considered Charlton to be something of a bogey side for West Ham. Every time I seemed to attend this fixture, my memory is of us not doing particularly well.
The clubs’ respective fortunes have changed considerably over the past 30 years, but Charlton could still be a handful.
Tyreece Campbell looked like a complete and utter menace against Derby. It wasn’t just that he scored a very good winning goal; on another day, he might also have earned Charlton two penalties.
Campbell is strong, fast and direct, meaning whoever marks him will need to be alert throughout.
This will be the first league meeting between the clubs since Charlton recorded a 4-0 Premier League victory in February 2007. The Addicks have won four of the past six league meetings, although their most recent away game against West Ham ended in a 3-1 Hammers victory in August 2006.
West Ham have also lost their previous six home London derbies, so there are enough warning signs to prevent any complacency.
New signings could transform Nuno’s team
Arne Engels and Joël Piroe could both make their West Ham debuts, while Manor Solomon is in line for his first appearance at London Stadium after scoring at Burnley.
I would start Engels. His arrival represents a significant investment from West Ham and, as I explained when the transfer was completed, his signing offers encouragement beyond the player himself.
Piroe should also start with Pablo Felipe injured. The former Leeds striker has already demonstrated that he can score regularly at this level, and his previous understanding with Solomon could help him settle quickly. Our closer look at Piroe’s Championship record shows exactly why West Ham have brought him in.
I would definitely keep Solomon in the team. He provides the only genuine pace in the side, and I really liked his direct running at Turf Moor.
Tomáš Souček remains unavailable as he recovers from the ankle ligament injury he sustained at the World Cup. Keiber Lamadrid’s fitness will be assessed following his knee problem, while Charlton striker Micah Mbick has been sidelined with a serious knee injury since March.
Bowen must lead in a different way
Jarrod Bowen is going to be hugely important for West Ham this season. I would not be surprised if he gets close to the Championship assists record, and I’m absolutely delighted he stayed.
However, as my Hammers Chat partner Geo pointed out, Bowen needs to take a more proactive role as captain by removing teammates from trouble rather than concentrating on speaking to the referee.
The most recent example involved Taty Castellanos, who almost talked his way into a red card at Burnley.
Bowen stood in front of the referee attempting to persuade him not to book the Argentinian. Realistically, he should have frog-marched Taty away from the situation.
It wasn’t the first time it has happened, and managing combustible teammates is an important part of captaincy.
Gonzo’s predicted West Ham team
Predicting Nuno’s team remains difficult, but I expect him to retain the 4-4-2 formation and hand full debuts to Engels and Piroe.
| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| GK | Mads Hermansen |
| RB | Kyle Walker-Peters |
| CB | Konstantinos Mavropanos |
| CB | Max Kilman |
| LB | Ollie Scarles |
| RM | Jarrod Bowen |
| CM | Lewis Orford |
| CM | Arne Engels |
| LM | Manor Solomon |
| ST | Taty Castellanos |
| ST | Joël Piroe |
Gonzo’s prediction
Despite my memories of Charlton as a bogey side, I think West Ham will win comfortably.
The arrival of Engels and Piroe should give the team more quality, creativity and goal threat, while Solomon’s pace can cause Charlton problems from the left.
The only danger is whether Nuno reverts to type if West Ham establish a lead. He needs to let this team attack and make full use of the quality available to him.
Prediction: West Ham United 4-1 Charlton Athletic
Saturday’s match will be refereed by Andrew Kitchen, as confirmed in the official match officials announcement.
Seriously drop Kante, nah I’ll go with your team but replace Orford and Scarles with Diouf and Kante, no room for sentiment
Would play Diof and Kanti instead of Orford and Scarles..
I think you’ve cracked open the bottle a bit early tonight Gonzo 🤣
Piroe and Taty playing together will likely be a disaster. Piroe is purely a finisher, he can’t hold the line or press and is very immobile and passive when not in possession. If you force Taty into pressing role he will soon get frustrated (he doesn’t look like a player who wants to be here. Didn’t even celebrate when scoring against Portsmouth) and we’ll end up with both ineffective which will force us onto the back front defending even deeper than normal. Knowing Nervous Nuno I would expect him to play Taty as a lone striker and add JWP or Kante as an extra defensive midfielder. This will be equally disastrous leaving a lone striker isolated and frustrated with the rest of the team forced to defend deep inviting Charlton to come at us. It may also expose Orford as a potential weak link and Scarles and Kilman could get pushed into error strewn performances. Nuno lacks the technical and tactical nous to do anything different resulting in a 3-1 home defeat. The squad is threadbare and the sad thing is he has to play Pablo, when fit, as he has one else who can put in the work to act as a high line press. As for Piroe I really believe he will become Nuno’s Traore for the season, spending most of it on the bench and ineffective when he plays in a system that doesn’t suit him. We desperately need a new manager who can play a more positive attacking game
I wouldn’t drop Kante! 2 assists in 2 games. I hope you have that one wrong. 😉
Gonzo I agree except for Diouf in for Scarles.
Or at least, if Scarles starts, this sub needs to happen before we are deep in Park The Bus time!!
FOUR – 1!!!!
Bold predictions Gonzo.