Aiming to record eight straight league wins, title favourites Birmingham City will visit an out-of-form Charlton Athletic side at The Valley on Saturday afternoon in League One.
The Addicks are looking to end a worrying run of defeats, whilst Blues are navigating a tricky period of fixtures with ease as the October international break approaches.
Match preview
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Following back-to-back wins over Shrewsbury Town and Cambridge United across League One and the EFL Trophy, Charlton Athletic have suffered three consecutive defeats in the third tier, with their latest coming at the home of struggling Bristol Rovers in the West Country on Tuesday night.
Rather surprisingly, the Gasmen raced into a three-goal lead after 67 minutes courtesy of strikes from former Aston Villa attacker Scott Sinclair, Jamie Lindsay and James Wilson, before efforts from Alex Mitchell and Matt Godden put some shine on the scoreline for the Addicks.
Despite head coach Nathan Jones insisting that his side are capable of beating anyone in the division, Charlton are sitting 13th in the League One standings after a concerning spell of results, although they are only two points behind Steve Bruce's in-form Blackpool in sixth.
Losing last campaign's leading marksman to Saturday's visitors Birmingham during the summer transfer window, the Adddicks are not the strongest in front of goal, with Alfie May's replacement Gassan Ahadme netting just once across eight third-tier appearances for his new employers.
Charlton will be looking to enact revenge on Birmingham following a first-round EFL Cup meeting at The Valley in August, when a first-half stunner from Blues academy graduate Brandon Khela was enough to knock the London-based club out of that particular competition.
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For the first time in the league since December 1946, Birmingham have now managed seven straight victories following Tuesday night's one-goal success over Huddersfield Town, who were lucky to escape St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park without receiving a hiding from the overwhelming favourites for promotion.
It was threatening to be a frustrating night for Blues as both May and record signing Jay Stansfield missed a host of clear-cut chances to open the scoring, although the hosts got what they deserved in the 63rd minute, when the aforementioned attacking duo linked up to breach the net of Jacob Chapman.
Five points clear at the top of the division and looking down at a chasing pack consisting of Wrexham, Mansfield Town and Lincoln City, Birmingham are making a mockery of pre-season suggestions that League One could trap the Second City club despite their heavy spending over the summer.
Blues' struggles on the road cost them their Championship status in the 2023-24 term, but Chris Davies's side have been flawless away from St Andrew's so far in the third tier, with wins at Wycombe Wanderers, Leyton Orient and Rotherham United keeping a 100% away record intact.
Despite the likes of May and Stansfield understandably stealing the headlines, the midfield duo of Tomoki Iwata and Paik Seung-ho are the engine room technicians behind Birmingham early-season success, helping the team to dominate possession and suffocate their League One opponents.
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Team News
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Providing a goal and an assist off the bench at Bristol Rovers, former Coventry City striker Godden is pushing to start ahead of Tyreece Campbell and Ahadme for Charlton on Saturday.
Enjoying half a season at St Andrew's during the 2021-22 term, Chuks Aneke will be hoping to haunt his former employers at The Valley this weekend.
Netting a goal on his return to the side on Tuesday night, ex-Charlton marksman May should have done enough to keep Lyndon Dykes out of the Birmingham side this weekend.
Ethan Laird is still a while away from first-team action following an ankle injury, meaning that it is a shootout between Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Alfons Sampsted for the right-back berth.
With South Korea international Paik suffering with cramp at the end of the Huddersfield win, there is a slight possibility that Marc Leonard joins Iwata in the midfield at The Valley.
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
Mannion; Mitchell, Jones, Gillesphey; Ramsay, Berry, Coventry, Anderson, Edwards; Godden, Ahadme
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Allsopp; Gardner-Hickman, Klarer, Bielik, Cochrane; Iwata, Paik; Willumsson, May, Hansson; Stansfield
We say: Charlton Athletic 1-2 Birmingham City
After three straight defeats and a poor start against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday, we are expecting a response from Charlton at The Valley this weekend.
That being said, Birmingham are in sensational form and should, on paper, be comfortable winners in the capital, although we believe that Blues will only manage a narrow success.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
