GILLINGHAM and Charlton will both begin next season with difficult away games.

Gills face a daunting trip to Portman Road to face Ipswich and Charlton must travel to the Reebok Stadium to face Bolton Wanderers.

Alan Curbishley’s Addicks will hope to hit the ground running before they take on Portsmouth and Aston Villa at The Valley in the space of three days.

Charlton’s first test against the Barclays Premiership ‘big guns’ comes on October 2 when they travel to Highbury to take on champions Arsenal.

That starts a huge month for the club as they also face Newcastle and Liverpool respectively.

The other title contenders, Manchester United and Chelsea, provide the opposition at the the end of November on consecutive weekends.

Charlton end 2004 and start the New Year at The Valley with games against Everton and Arsenal.

March is a quiet month with only two league games scheduled but they will more than make up for it in April with Charlton having six games including the visit of Manchester United at the end of the month.

The following week they take a trip to Stamford Bridge before ending their campaign with a home tie against Crystal Palace.

KM-fm's Ed Smith has more on Gillingham's fixtures...