In a key battle at the top end of the League One table, Charlton Athletic will welcome Huddersfield Town to The Valley on Saturday.
The hosts currently occupy fourth spot, five points ahead of their sixth-placed visitors who lead the chasing pack in the playoff race by a single point.
Match preview
Charlton Athletic return to The Valley on Saturday aiming to bounce back to winning ways and strengthen their top-six standing in the League One table on the back of a disappointing setback last time out.
Following a mixed first half to their fifth straight League One campaign and first full season under the management of Nathan Jones, the Addicks moved into playoff spots and contention for automatic promotion with an eye-catching run between mid-December and mid-March.
In that time, the London outfit won 13 of their 18 league outings while only suffering two defeats, culminating in a six-match unbeaten run as wins over Crawley Town and Wigan Athletic followed a goalless draw with fellow promotion-chasers Stockport County.
That saw Jones’s men head into the weekend’s trip to Peterborough United with a five-point gap up to second-placed Wrexham with nine games remaining, but they were unable to ramp up the pressure, succumbing to a 3-0 defeat as Sam Hughes, Abraham Odoh and Malik Mothersille netted goals for their hosts.
With the top two now all but out of reach and seventh-placed Bolton Wanderers six points behind with a game in hand, Charlton Athletic will bid to solidify their playoff place in the coming weeks, starting with a rebound victory on home turf at the weekend to make it eight straight wins and 12 league games unbeaten at The Valley.
They face a tough test, though, as the visitors travel south in search of a second straight win to strengthen their own top-six standing.
In their bid to make an immediate return to the Championship this term, Huddersfield Town dropped out of the playoff spots following a poor run early in the new year, as they collected just 10 points from an 11-match span between late January and early March.
That rut culminated in back-to-back 1-0 losses at the hands of Wrexham and Bristol Rovers, spelling the end of Michael Duff‘s tenure, with the Terriers turning to Jon Worthington to lead the side temporarily.
They made a perfect start to life under the caretaker boss last weekend, returning to the top six with a 5-1 beating of Crawley Town at the John Smith’s Stadium, as Joe Taylor, Callum Marshall, Matty Pearson and Ruben Roosken got on the scoresheet alongside Charlie Barker own goal before Ade Adeyemo netted an injury-time consolation for the visitors.
Now sitting back in sixth spot with a degree of renewed confidence, but just one and two points ahead of seventh-placed Bolton Wanderers and eighth-placed Reading respectively, Huddersfield Town will aim to make it consecutive three-point hauls for just the second time this year on Saturday to build a lead.
Team News
Given the settled nature of their team during the strong run in recent months, Nathan Jones should avoid making many changes to his Charlton Athletic starting XI despite last week’s 3-0 away defeat, with Ashley Maynard-Brewer, Daniel Kanu and Miles Leaburn likely remaining sidelined by injuries.
Matt Godden will continue to lead the line, having netted a team-high tally of 15 goals this season, while Tyreece Campbell, Luke Berry and Tennai Watson will hope to line up in support again in the absence of Leaburn.
Conor Coventry and captain Greg Docherty are bound to continue their partnership in the engine room, while Lloyd Jones and Macaulay Gillesphey are mainstays at the heart of the back four.
Jon Worthington should field an unchanged Huddersfield Town starting XI after last week’s 5-1 thrashing of Crawley Town, with defenders Tom Lees, Radinio Balker, Nigel Lonwijk and Mickel Miller, midfielders Herbie Kane and David Kasumu and attackers Josh Koroma, Danny Ward, Rhys Healey and Dion Charles likely set to remain confined to the treatment room.
Joe Taylor and Callum Marshall are bound to continue their attacking partnership having both got on the scoresheet last time out, seeing the latter move onto 10 goals for the season for the Terriers.
Given their extensive absences in defence, Oliver Turton and Josh Ruffels may again join Matty Pearson in a makeshift back three, while Joe Hodge should keep his place alongside Ben Wiles and Antony Evans in midfield despite competition from Jonathan Hogg.
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
Mannion; Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey, Small; Docherty, Coventry; Watson, Berry, Campbell; Godden
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Nicholls; Turton, Pearson, Ruffels; Spencer, Evans, Hodge, Wiles, Roosken; Taylor, Marshall
We say: Charlton Athletic 1-1 Huddersfield Town
With renewed confidence from a statement win last time out under the temporary guidance of Jon Worthington, we back Huddersfield Town to gain a creditable point in a tough trip to The Valley, with both sides boasting an abundance of quality.
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