Charlton Athletic welcome Preston North End to The Valley in a huge Sky Bet Championship clash, as both teams look to boost their promotion hopes.
A home win will lift Charlton back into the play-off spots whilst Preston could go top if they can take victory here.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesCharlton have no fresh injury concerns to report and manager, Lee Bowyer could name the same team that drew 2-2 at West Bromwich Albion last weekend.
Lyle Taylor however remains ruled out with a knee injury but is out of a brace in a positive step forward.
Preston could welcome Ben Davies back into the starting lineup after he missed their comeback win over Blackburn Rovers with an ankle injury last weekend.
Josh Harrop (hamstring), Tom Clarke and Louis Moult (both knee) are all still sidelined until further notice.
Form
Charlton arrive here with five points from their last five matches and have gone unbeaten in five of their seven home league games, despite losing two of their last three at The Valley.
Preston come into this game with one defeat in their last 11 league matches but have taken just five points from their last four away trips, including a 1-0 defeat at Reading in their last away outing.
Stat Attack
- Charlton have lost three of their last five meetings with Preston in all competitions (W1, D1, L3), only going unbeaten in the 2011-12 League One season when they took four points against the Lilywhites.
- In six Championship meetings with Preston, Charlton have taken just four points (W1, D1, L4), whilst they’ve also scored just once at home in this fixture in this current second tier.
- Preston’s Tom Barkhuizen has scored four and produced one assist in his last four league games.
Prediction
I am beginning to worry about Charlton because since they lost Lyle Taylor to injury, their form has been inconsistent with four defeats in their last eight despite somehow staying in the promotion hunt.
Preston however seem to have found similar form that took Norwich to promotion to last season, so this is definitely going to be a proper test of their depth and promotion credentials at a stadium which is difficult to win at.
We therefore should see a good game between two strong teams and it might well come down to who has that extra quality on the bench, although I have to go for a score draw despite Charlton’s poor form in this fixture.
Prediction: Charlton Athletic 1-1 Preston North End
Result: Charlton Athletic 0-1 Preston North End