Fourteen weeks after the curtain came down on the 2014/15 season at The Valley, it will be raised to herald the start of the new campaign on Saturday.

Such is the ever changing nature of modern football, that – for a variety of reasons – less than half of those that started the game against Bournemouth in May, will kick-off against Queens Park Rangers.

Rangers will be striving to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, but could find it a tough ask.

Star striker, Charlie Austin, is coveted by several Premier League clubs and may miss this game.

The usual anticipation of a new season will be tempered somewhat for many, who will have to sort out their season ticket problems ahead of the game.

Stephen Henderson is side lined with a shoulder injury, and is unlikely to feature during the first two months of the campaign.

Nick Pope fell behind Marko Dmitrovic and Neil Etheridge in the pecking order last season and finished the campaign on loan at Bury.

Young Dimitar Mitov is Pope’s back-up with the more experienced Dillon Phillips, as well as Dmitovic, out on loan.

It is likely that the experienced Stuart Taylor – who has been training at Sparrows Lane – will sign some sort of deal before the game.

Chris Solly is Guy Luzon’s only real option at right-back, while Zakarya Bergdich is not yet ready to compete with Morgan Fox for the left-back berth, but is likely to figure on he bench.

Naby Sarr is another who may not be quite ready to start, so Alou Diarra is likely to partner Patrick Bauer in central defence.

Luzon may opt for two holding midfielders in El-Hadji Ba and Ahmed Kashi, with Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Jordan Cousins playing further forward.

Tony Watt could be deployed just behind Simon Makienok. Makienok’s height will cause teams problems if he gets the right service.

James Henry has been a target for the Addicks for most of the summer, and it looked as though the move had inched closer over the last 24 hours.

It now seems unlikely to happen before Saturday’s game and Luzon may even have to consider an alternative option.

Cristian Ceballos and Reza Ghoochannejhad are likely to be on the bench as impact subs, and Regan Charles-Cook will also be a contender for a place on the bench.

Charlton could look like this:

Pope; Solly, Bauer, Diarra, Fox; Gudmundsson, Ba, Kashi, Cousins; Watt, Makienok.

Subs: Taylor, Bergdich, Sarr, Jackson, Harriott, Ceballos, Ghoochannejhad.

The referee will be West Yorkshire’s Bobby Madley.

This will be an intriguing match with neither set of fans entirely sure of what to expect from their team.

Any result is possible and the Addicks could surprise the pundits.