The EFL makes official decision ahead of Birmingham City v Charlton Athletic

Charlton Athletic travel to top-of-the-table Birmingham City in League One action this weekend, but take on the high-flyers in a rich vein of form following a midweek triumph over Peterborough United.

The Addicks have only lost one league fixture in their last 13 as Nathan Jones' side find themselves in the play-off places. Charlton Athletic are fifth in League One following a brilliant festive period and start to 2025, while the Blues are runaway leaders on 66 points and two games in hand on the Addicks.

The London outfit got the better of Chris Davies' men at The Valley earlier this season. A second-half Matty Godden goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win in that match.

EFL confirm officials for Birmingham City v Charlton Athletic

Ahead of the reverse fixture, the EFL has confirmed who will be the officials for the match at St Andrew's. The referee for Birmingham City v Charlton Athletic this weekend will be Sebastien Stockbridge.

Stockbridge has taken charge of 21 fixtures this season, 13 in League One with six in League Two and two in the Carabao Cup. His last match was the 0-0 draw between Blackpool and Rotherham United.

The referee last oversaw a match involving Charlton Athletic when the Addicks beat Shrewsbury Town 1-0 on the road in September. His last time working with Birmingham City was the Blues' 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers in December, a game which saw a penalty awarded to the Midlands outfit and scored by Jay Stansfield.

Joe Simpson and Thomas Cooke are the assistant referees this weekend. Martin Woods will be the fourth official.

Nathan Jones insists Addicks ‘work in progress’

Speaking after the win over Posh, Addicks boss Nathan Jones insisted that his side was still developing despite recent form. He said: “We’re a constant work in progress. We’re nowhere near the finished article, but we know where we want to be. We can still be more fluid, still convert more chances, to create more quality, it’s constant work in progress.

“We’re in a really good, realistic place for where we’ve come from, and we have to keep building that. You have that mentality of wanting to keep going, to have the fitness levels and energy, and that little bit of quality.

“I think the referee got all the big decisions right tonight, it’s definitely a penalty for us, definitely a penalty for them and it’s a red card.”

The meeting with Birmingham City comes with an extra bit of bite after fallout following the final whistle in London earlier this season. Ahead of that game, Birmingham City captain Krystian Bielik had gloated to the BBC: "It seems like we always find a way to come back - we got two big punches in the face but we came back. Full credit to the players, the manager and coaching staff. We're working so hard for these sorts of games when it's not going your way in the beginning but we find a way to win.

"We're League One but I don't think there are any players in this team who are League One players. All of them are at a higher level. In six months' time, we'll be a Championship team and a different animal. We stay humble and keep our feet on the ground and we don't want to choke on it. But the reality is we're too good for League One."

Charlton boss on ‘naive’ Birmingham City

When asked about if the players were aware of that head-turning interview after beating Birmingham City, Godden said: “Yeah. It was all over the dressing room.”

Charlton Athletic manager Nathan Jones also labelled the Bielik comments as ‘naive’ as he too confronted the interview. He said: “It wasn’t that they would be a Championship club, they said they were too good to be League One. That gave us extra motivation.

“I’d tend to agree with him. It’s naive to come out and say that coming into a big game. If I believed I was one of the best looking guys in South East London, I’m not sure I’d say that going into a beauty contest.”

In other news, Crystal Palace are eyeing a swoop for a League One talent in what would be a 'classic' Steve Parish move.