Charlton Athletic will be bidding to avoid a fourth straight League One defeat when they continue their campaign at home to high-flying MK Dons on Tuesday night.
The Addicks are currently 16th in the table, boasting 39 points from their opening 32 matches, while MK Dons sit third in the division, five points clear of seventh-placed Sunderland.
Match preview
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Charlton finished seventh in League One last term, only missing out on the playoffs through goal difference, but the club are some way off the top six this season, sitting 16 points behind the playoff positions.
The Addicks recorded three straight wins over Fleetwood Town, Portsmouth and AFC Wimbledon at the end of January and start of February but have since suffered three straight losses to Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic and Oxford United.
Saturday's match against Oxford proved to be a damaging affair for the London club, with the visitors scoring four unanswered goals in a commanding performance, and the result saw Charlton drop into 16th spot in the table, just nine points clear of the relegation zone.
It would be a huge surprise if the Red Robins found themselves in any relegation trouble in the final weeks of the campaign, but the difficult matches continue to arrive, facing MK Dons, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland in their next three at this level of football.
Johnnie Jackson's side have won seven, drawn three and lost six of their 16 home league matches this season to collect 24 points, which is just the 16th-best record in the division, and they will be welcoming an MK Dons outfit that have the third-best away record in League One this term.
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MK Dons have been excellent on their travels this season, collecting 32 points, with only Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United (both 33) boasting better records on the road in League One.
The Dons, who finished 13th in the third tier last season, have won 17, drawn nine and lost seven of their 33 league matches this term to collect 60 points, which has left them third in the table, three points behind second-placed Wigan and nine behind leaders Rotherham.
The club are also crucially five points clear of seventh-placed Sunderland in the race for a playoff spot, and they will bring an impressive run of form into Tuesday's contest in the English capital.
Liam Manning's side are unbeaten in their last six in the league, recording four wins in the process, including an impressive 2-1 victory away to Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.
Connor Wickham came up with the winner for MK Dons at the Stadium of Light, and MK Dons will now be looking to record their 18th victory of the 2021-22 League One campaign here.
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Team News
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Charlton boss Jackson will have to make at least one change to the side that started the heavy defeat at home to Oxford, as central defender Sean Clare was handed a red card.
Clare's spot at the back could be taken by Akin Famewo, while Mason Burstow is pushing to be involved in the starting side after featuring off the bench on Saturday.
Corey Blackett-Taylor, Jake Forster-Caskey and Jayden Stockley are still unavailable for the home side, whilst Scott Fraser, Chuks Aneke and Conor Washington will face late fitness tests.
As for MK Dons, Wickham has put himself in contention for a starting role after hitting the winner off the bench against Sunderland, but the striker could again find himself on the bench.
With no fresh injury or suspension concerns, it would not be a surprise to see the same starting XI take to the field from Saturday's affair, with Mohamed Eisa, who was also on the scoresheet, leading the line.
The visitors will have to make a late check on Josh McEachran, though, as the midfielder was replaced by David Kasumu just past the hour against Sunderland after taking a knock.
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
MacGillivray; Matthews, Famewo, Inniss, Purrington; Gilbey, Dobson; Lee, Morgan, Burstow; Leko
MK Dons possible starting lineup:
Cumming; O'Hora, Darling, Lewington; Watson, Coventry, McEachran, Harvie; Parrott, Eisa, Twine
We say: Charlton Athletic 1-2 MK Dons
MK Dons have impressed in recent weeks and will fancy their chances of collecting another three points on Tuesday night. Charlton's injury list is really hurting them at the moment, and we are finding it difficult to predict the home side to avoid a fourth straight league defeat in this match.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Charlton Athletic win with a probability of 42.66%. A win for MK Dons had a probability of 32.49% and a draw had a probability of 24.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Charlton Athletic win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.98%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.92%) and 2-0 (6.85%). The likeliest MK Dons win was 1-2 (7.65%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.68%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 5% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that MK Dons would win this match.
