Preview: AFC Wimbledon vs. Charlton Athletic - prediction, team news, lineups

AFC Wimbledon will look to break the EFL's longest current winless run on Tuesday, when they play host to Charlton Athletic.

The hosts have now failed to win any of their last 21 matches, dropping into the relegation zone in the League One table as a result, while their visitors sit 15th after a recent improvement.

Match preview

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With six wins and 24 points from their opening 19 games of the League One season, AFC Wimbledon looked set for a commendable campaign, but since mid-December, their fortunes have taken an eye-catching dip.

The Dons have failed to pick up a single victory from their last 21 outings, managing just nine points in the process, with their current run of six straight defeats being the particular low point.

The fourth of those, a loss away at Cheltenham Town, triggered the departure of Mark Robinson, and, after the club turned to Mark Bowen, they looked to have, at least, earned a creditable 1-1 draw away at promotion-chasing Sheffield Wednesday last time out, only to be the victims of a late winner.

The game remained level at 1-1 after Ayoub Assal's early equaliser, but Lee Gregory would pop up with an injury-time goal to snatch all three points for the Owls.

As a result of their dismal run, Wimbledon now sit four points adrift of safety with just six games to play, meaning they must quickly break the winless run to stand a chance of surviving the drop in the final stretch.

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In their way stand a Charlton Athletic side who will also aim to get back to winning ways after a defeat at the weekend.

In what has been an underwhelming campaign for the Addicks, they at least looked to have built towards a high mid-table finish with three straight victories in March, firstly beating Gillingham and Burton Albion and keeping clean sheets in both contests.

Johnnie Jackson's men then met basement side Doncaster Rovers, and Jayden Stockley's goal made the only difference as they left with a third straight victory and shutout, before hosting Lincoln City for a lower mid-table battle on Saturday.

With both sides reduced to 10 men before the hour mark, the Addicks fell 2-0 down, and Stockley's late finish was not enough to force a share of the spoils, with the London outfit seeing their winning run stopped abruptly as a result.

On the back of that disappointment, Charlton will now aim to post a three-point haul with the chance to climb as high as 12th.

Team News

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After what was an improved performance against Sheffield Wednesday, Mark Bowen should not make too many changes to his AFC Wimbledon side, although the likes of Anthony Hartigan, Dapo Mebude and Nesta Guinness-Walker will be vying for starts.

Ayoub Assal will continue to lead the line, after he hit a sixth league goal of the season in that game, having also provided four assists.

Young midfielder Jack Rudoni has been another shining light in a dismal campaign, contributing nine goals and three assists in 34 league appearances.

Charlton Athletic are without star midfielder Alex Gilbey, who will serve a suspension after he was sent off in the first half of their meeting with Lincoln.

Their attack should be led by Jayden Stockley, who has taken his tally to 10 league goals for the term in 27 appearances with finishes in each of their last two matches.

Jackson is not short of attacking options, and Conor Washington, Jonathan Leko and Elliot Lee will battle to feature in the front two with the support of Scott Fraser from midfield.

AFC Wimbledon possible starting lineup:

Tzanev; Nightingale, Heneghan, Guinness-Walker; Lawrence, Marsh, Woodyard, Rudoni, Osew; Robinson, Assal

Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:

MacGillivray; Clare, Lavelle, Purrington; Matthews, Dobson, Forster-Caskey, Fraser, Blackett-Taylor; Washington, Stockley

We say: AFC Wimbledon 1-2 Charlton Athletic

AFC Wimbledon showed desire in their trip to Sheffield Wednesday, and they will be desperate to end their poor run to stay in the fight for survival, but we would not be surprised to see them again fall short against a Charlton side with plenty of quality all over the pitch.