Preview: Charlton Athletic vs Blackburn Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

Charlton Athletic play host to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday afternoon looking for the win that would likely move them into the top half of the Championship table.

Meanwhile, Blackburn make the trip to The Valley sitting in 18th position, albeit with a game in hand as they wait to discover the outcome of last weekend's abandoned game with Ipswich Town.

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Match preview

After five games without success in all competitions, a trip to a Sheffield United side that had just welcomed back Chris Wilder as manager felt like a daunting task for Charlton.

Instead, the Addicks withstood everything thrown at them at Bramall Lane before scoring a suckerpunch of a goal in the 90th minute through Tanto Olaofe.

That strike made a difference of six places in the table and even at this stage of the campaign, it felt like a goal that could have positive consequences for Nathan Jones' men.

Olaofe's goal was just their fourth in six games since returning to the second tier, Charlton having been very much reliant on a sturdy backline that has only conceded five times at the other end.

Three of those came in the same fixture against Queens Park Rangers, with Charlton shipping the other two in their three home matches with Watford, Leicester City and Millwall, accumulating four points in the process.

As for Blackburn, they are still experiencing the sour taste brought on by the late abandonment of their game with Ipswich last Saturday when holding a 1-0 lead and a player advantage with 10 minutes remaining.

The waterlogged pitch at Ewood Park is likely to lead to the game being replayed in full, much to the frustration of Valerien Ismael as he and his players wait to discover the EFL's decision.

Had they closed out that victory, it would have made it three wins in four, Rovers having overcome Hull City and Watford on away territory without conceding a goal.

There have been just 10 goals across Blackburn's five matches thus far, Ismael able to take the positives from possessing the joint-third best defensive record, albeit having officially played one game fewer.

Only Todd Cantwell has netted more than once for Blackburn in the Championship this campaign, even with his third strike versus Ipswich on the brink of being ruled out by the authorities.

Charlton Athletic Championship form:

Charlton Athletic form (all competitions):

Blackburn Rovers Championship form:

Blackburn Rovers form (all competitions):

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Team News

Olaofe will feel that he has done enough to be recalled to the Charlton attack at the expense of Tyreece Campbell or Charlie Kelman.

Kanye Ramsey will also be considered for a return at right-back or right wing-back after serving a one-match ban, but James Bree could retain his spot in that position.

Barring any fitness issues, Ismael may see no reason to tinker with a Blackburn side that put their club in a strong position versus Ipswich.

Augustus Kargbo and Andri Gudjohnsen were deployed as the front two on that occasion, leaving Yuki Ohashi on the substitutes' bench.

Hayden Carter and Sidnei Tavares will hope to come back into the squad after injury.

Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:

Kaminski; Burke, Jones, Bell; Bree, Carey, Coventry, Docherty, Edwards; Campbell, Olaofe

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

Toth; Miller, Wharton, McLoughlin; Alebiosu, Gardner-Hickman, Tronstad, Hedges; Cantwell; Kargbo, Gudjohnsen

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We say: Charlton Athletic 1-1 Blackburn Rovers

 

With Charlton on a high after beating Sheffield United and Blackburn motivated to build on the frustrations of last weekend, we can see this fixture being highly-competitive. When taking into consideration their respective poor goal tallies, a low-scoring draw feels like a plausible outcome.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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