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Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Championship clash between Charlton Athletic and Southampton, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Southampton will look to claim a third consecutive victory when they travel to The Valley for Saturday’s meeting with Charlton Athletic.
Meanwhile, the Addicks will be hoping to return to winning ways after losing to Wrexham in their final outing before the international break.
Match preview
After winning promotion via the League One playoffs last term, Charlton are already eyeing another top-six push under the guidance of former Southampton boss Nathan Jones.
The Addicks are sitting in ninth spot and just two points away from the playoff positions after winning six, drawing five and losing four of their 15 league games.
Jones’s side put together a five-game unbeaten run before their impressive run of form was halted by a narrow 1-0 away defeat to Wrexham.
Despite losing before the international window, they still have the chance to extend one unbeaten streak in Saturday’s home clash, having avoided defeat in each of their last five outings at The Valley (W3, D2).
Charlton have not faced Southampton since the 2010-11 League One season, but they may still be able to take some encouragement from the fact that they avoided defeat in their last 10 home meetings with the south coast side.
With that said, the last five of those home encounters have finished all square, including a 1-1 draw in their most recent meeting in March 2011.
Southampton are preparing to face their former manager without a permanent boss of their own after Will Still was sacked following the defeat to Preston North End at the start of the month.
The club’s Under-21 coach, Tonda Eckert, was placed in interim charge to oversee back-to-back wins before the international window.
The Saints edged out Queens Park Rangers via a 2-1 scoreline, before they claimed a 3-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday, thanks to goals from Caspar Jander, Finn Azaz and Adam Armstrong.
Having made an impressive start to his interim tenure, Eckert is expected to take charge of the next three matches as the club’s board weighs up whether to give him the job on a permanent basis or look to appoint an external candidate.
Southampton still have significant work to do if they are to have any chance of securing an immediate return to the Premier League, with the Saints down in 17th place and seven points adrift from the playoffs.
They will travel to The Valley with the sole objective of recording an away win over Charlton for the first time since running out 4-2 winners in January 1990.
Charlton Athletic Championship form:
Southampton Championship form:
Team News
Charlton will have to contend without the services of Amari’i Bell, Reece Burke, Josh Edwards and Matty Godden.
Forward Charlie Kelman remains a doubt for Saturday’s fixture after sitting out the last two matches with an injury issue.
Greg Docherty is pushing for a recall after coming off the bench to play over half an hour against Wrexham.
As for Southampton, they are unable to call upon Shea Charles, Elias Jelert, Samuel Edozie and Ross Stewart.
There are also doubts surrounding the availability of Cameron Archer and Ryan Fraser, while Oriol Romeu is only likely to be fit for a place on the bench following his return to the south coast earlier this month.
Midfielder Flynn Downes should shake off a knock that forced him off against Sheffield Wednesday before the international break.
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey; Bree, Coventry, Docherty, Carey, Fullah; Oloafe, Campbell
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Stephens, Wood, Harwood-Bellis; Fellows, Jander, Downes, Manning; Azaz, Scienza, Armstrong
We say: Charlton Athletic 1-1 Southampton
Southampton should have renewed belief after picking up back-to-back wins before the international break, but they are set to face a tough opponent on Saturday, and considering Charlton have lost just one home league game this season, we think the hosts will hold the Saints to a score draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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