Preview: Charlton Athletic vs. Wycombe Wanderers - prediction, team news, lineups

Wycombe Wanderers travel to Charlton Athletic on Saturday afternoon looking for the win which would move the club back into the League One playoff race.

While the Chairboys head into this fixture trailing the top six by four points, 11th-placed Charlton have been left to try to secure a top-10 finish in the standings.

Match preview

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When Gareth Ainsworth left for Queens Park Rangers, Wycombe fans would have naturally had concerns over whether the departure of their long-term boss would have a negative impact on their promotion bid.

Although the return of club legend Matt Bloomfield is a popular appointment, just seven points have been collected from his opening six league fixtures.

The most recent defeat was by a 1-0 scoreline to a relentless Barnsley outfit who are making a late bid for automatic promotion, but it was another blow to Wycombe's efforts to make the top six.

Bloomfield's side hold a game in hand on sixth-placed Bolton Wanderers, although points on the board are more important at this stage and Wycombe are not accumulating them with enough regularity.

On a more positive note, just six goals have been conceded in as many matches, yet it cannot be ignored that the same amount have been netted at the other end.

As far as Charlton are concerned, they have gone through their own inconsistent spell since Dean Holden was handed the reins at the end of 2022.

However, with seven points coming from their last three outings, there are signs that the Addicks are beginning to find more consistency as they approach the end of the season.

While the wins over Morecambe and Cambridge United were against teams situated in the relegation zone, six goals were netted on their travels on the back of three away fixtures without success.

Sitting 16 points adrift of the playoffs, promotion is out of the question for this season, yet Holden will want to lay the foundations for a bid to return to the Championship in 2023-24.

Team News

Holden is unlikely to take a risk on Miles Leaburn with the Charlton forward suffering a hamstring injury last time out.

Daniel Kanu appears most likely to get the nod in the final third, although Macauley Bonne is another option for Holden.

While the rest of the team could stay the same, Steven Sessegnon and Gavin Kilkenny are alternatives in defence and midfield respectively.

Although Wycombe went down 1-0 to Barnsley last time out, they had been level with one of the in-form teams in the division until they made changes.

With that in mind, Bloomfield may name a similar side, although David Wheeler could be recalled to replace Gibraltar international Tjay De Barr.

Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:

Maynard-Brewer; Clare, Inniss, Hector, Thomas; Morgan, Dobson, Fraser; Rak-Sakyi, Kanu, Campbell

Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Stryjek; McCarthy, Grimmer, Forino, Jacobson; Wing, Scowen; McCleary, Wheeler, Campbell; Hanlan

We say: Charlton Athletic 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers

With both teams having collected two wins from their most recent four outings, this has the potential to be a highly-competitive fixture. Nevertheless, the greater desire may come from the visitors, and we feel that they may edge this contest by the odd goal in three.

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