Like a piece of bacon that has been left in the fridge too long, Oldham have been a tough test for Charlton at The Valley in League One. Two turgid draws in the past two years have left the crowd bored and frustrated, yet Chris Powell will be hoping that the team bounce back from a disappointing draw against Walsall last weekend. The fact that many Addicks were disappointed with a draw away from home after an eight game winning run shows how far this club has come in a few short months, but momentum is key and a new run going into the Christmas and New Year period could set us up for something special come May.
Oldham’s current form is nothing to write home about, with their last six league games producing just a solitary win. Oldham’s away games do have goals though, on average over the season their games away from Boundary Park have produced 3.2 goals (4th highest in the league) so another 0-0 or 1-1 looks unlikely.
Many put the Walsall result down to too many players all having an off-day at once and hopefully that will be a rare occurrence rather than a sign of things to come. You can’t see too many changes to the starting line-up considering the likes of Scott Wagstaff continue to fail to take their opportunity from the bench and Paul Hayes and Andy Hughes not even making the 16 last time out.
The back five will be looking to maintain their status as the meanest defence in the league (0.75 goals conceded per game) and Taylor and Morrison will surely be looking to get on the scoresheet a lot more. As mentioned, the midfield is likely to remain the same, with Darryl Russel keeping out both Bradley Pritchard and Andy Hughes with an assured performance in Birmingham. Up top, Bradley Wright Phillips will look to find his scoring boots after having a lean spell compared to earlier in the season (1 in 5) and continue a decent looking partnership with Yann Kermongant.
The buffer to third place is still there but with both the Sheffield teams and MK Dons looking strong, the Addicks will be looking to maintain, and indeed increase their lead at the top. This is the last league game at The Valley of a crazy 2011 for Charlton, and we’ll be going out with a bang. 3-0 to the Addicks.
Come on you reds!
Comments
Good atmosphere and decent win 4-1, BWP 2, Kerm 1, Hollands 1.
Attendance: 19,822 ;-)
don't think it'll be comfortable but i'm expecting hoping for a win
Green, Ephraim and a BWP brace.
The bacon gets taken out of the fridge and thrown in the bin.
They have been a constant thorn in CAFC's backside of late, much like Walsall. They can score away from home so I reckon they'll score first, park the northern bus and end up being 0-1. And I will have frozen my nuts off to watch it all.
I am full of Festive cheer, honest.
5-1 to the reds. 4-0 up at half time.
BWP to get 2 goals (again!), Kermorgant hat-trick.
Looking forward to the game - hopefully a relaxing and enjoyable couple of hours in the midst of a manic weekend.