Peterborough United will be looking to build on their first away draw of the season as they travel to London to face in-form Charlton Athletic.
Charlton Athletic -Vs- Peterborough United
Venue: The Valley
Date: 27th November, 2012
Kick-off: 7:45pm
In-form Charlton Athletic host bottom of the table Peterborough United looking to continue their rich vein of form while Posh will be looking to build on their first away point of the season which they picked up at the weekend against second from bottom Ipswich Town.
The Addicks are unbeaten in their last four matches having won three matches while drawing their last match against 10-man Huddersfield. It is a run that has seen Charlton move from the bottom four to 15th place in the Championship. The one positive statistic Posh can look at is that the last three League defeats suffered by Charlton have all been on home soil!
Posh, on the other hand, are having a woeful season both on and off the pitch! Posh currently sit at the bottom of the Championship having won just four of their 18 League matches with Saturdays 1-1 draw at Ipswich was their first draw of the season. They are just two points from Bristol City who sit just outside the relegation places but at this point in the season, it looks like the bottom five teams could all be battling it out to avoid the bottom three come the end of the season.
The Addicks and Posh have only met four times at The Valley in the League with the Addicks winning three of those matches with Posh winning the other one. The solo Posh win came back in the 1992/93 season when Posh won 1-0 in the Division One encounter thanks to a Worrell Sterling goal. In total, Charlton have beaten Posh five times in the League, drawing twice and suffering defeat just once!
TEAM NEWS
Charlton Athletic
The Addicks will give late fitness tests to Danny Haynes and on-loan left back Dan Seaborne. The pair are hoping to be fit after missing the weekends draw against Huddersfield.
With a big local derby coming up on Saturday against Millwall, Addicks boss Chris Powell could freshen things up against Posh as he said to his club website www.cafc.co.uk: “The conditions on Saturday will have taken a lot out of the players` legs, so whether I freshen it up and put in some fresh players and fresh legs, we`ll have to wait and see.
“We`ve also got a tough local derby on Saturday, but we`re not thinking about Millwall yet.”.
Peterborough United
Posh boss Darren Ferguson will be hoping to build on the point his side won at the weekend as they travel to The Valley.
He could be forced into one change from Saturday`s starting line-up after on-loan forward Saido Berahino limped off during the Ipswich match. His place will go to fellow loanee Dwight Gayle [pictured below] who made his Posh debut from the subs bench against Ipswich.
Ferguson was happy with how Gayle slotted into the team: “I was happy with the way we shaped up overall and Dwight Gayle did very well when he came on. He penetrated their defence and created a couple of good opportunities for himself.
“It`s a big step up for him from League Two, but he has settled in very quickly. He has an excellent temperament which always helps.
“Saido is not as badly injured as we thought, but he is a doubt for the Charlton game. If he misses it I am sure he would be fit for the weekend.”
Tommy Rowe is still struggling to overcome an ankle injury that has seen him miss the last eight matches after going off injured in the narrow defeat at home to Nottingham Forest at the beginning of October.
Fergie`s squad is also thin on the ground after he let strikers Tyrone Barnett and Emile Sinclair go out on loan to Ipswich and Barnsley respectively while midfielder Nathaniel Mendez-Laing has also go on loan to League One outfit Portsmouth. All three players were suspended from the club following an incident in Peterborough city centre after the recent defeat to Crystal Palace. Sinclair was subsequently cleared of having any involvement but the other two players have been told they will never play for Posh again.
Add to that a number of other fringe players are already on loans while defender Kgosi Ntlhe and striker Dave Hibbert are on the injury list.
You can understand why Fergie has few options when selecting his team meaning half the substitutes bench will again be filled by teenagers.
New loanee George Thorne [pictured below] will make his second appearance in a Posh shirt after making a good impression on the Posh fans and management during the Ipswich game when he partnered Grant McCann in the centre of midfield.
“George and Grant looked great together at Ipswich. They gave us a lot of control and kept possession of the ball well.” Ferguson said after the game.
Looking at the forward situation, the Chairman and many fans dislike Posh playing with just one man up front but the fact is loanee Dwight Gayle is the only fit non-teenage forward available! Is that unlucky or just bad management? We just hope Saido is fit in time for Saturday (if he`s not available tonight) as we need to start a match with two recognised forwards in the starting line-up!
Vital Posh predicts the starting line-up will be:
Olejnik
Bostwick, Brisley, Knight-Percival
Thorne, McCann
Little Newell
Tomlin, Boyd
Gayle
HOTSHOTS
Addicks
4 – Jackson
3 – Haynes
3 – Hulse
Posh
6 – George Boyd
6 – Lee Tomlin
3 – Emile Sinclair
REFEREE
IAIN WILLIAMSON takes charge of his 3rd Championship match of the season.
To find out details of how he has performed this season, click HERE.
He will be assisted by Nicholas Kinseley and Adam Crysell.
The fourth official is Stephen Daly.
PREDICTION
Posh have been woeful of late despite Darren Ferguson being happy with how they are playing!! With a lack of firepower, we are relying on Dwight Gayle who will be making his first start for Posh to score the goals. Midfielders George Boyd and Lee Tomlin are top scorers for Posh but in truth their form has been erratic to say the least.
George Thorne has come in on loan and made a good impression on his debut and he`ll need to start working miracles with Grant McCann to kick-start a winning run for Posh. He may have other things on his mind though after his £10,000 Rolex watch was stolen from the Posh dressing room during their draw at Ipswich at the weekend! Other items were also stolen from various Posh players at the same time! The incident is still being investigated internally by Posh!!
With Posh out-of-form and disruption off the field, Charlton will be pleased to face us at this point in time and will be expecting to pick up their fourth win in five matches. Will Fergie be able to bring the confidence of the players back up or is he starting to lose the dressing room? It is vital all the players pull in the same direction and a win tonight could be the start of something good for Posh. It will be very difficult tonight but stranger things have happened!
Posh have been on a run of 139 games since a goalless draw but tonight could be the night that it happens! Posh to draw: 0 – 0.
UP THE POSH Follow me on Twitter: @mwl1967
Photos/images courtesy of www.theposhpics.com.
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