In the midst of a hectic transfer window, Charlton travel to Staffordshire looking to end their run of eight winless league games and keep the relegation battle at bay.

Burton are now in 19th place in the table, but their recent form is still encouraging: Since the 1-1 draw at the Valley on the 23rd of December in the reverse fixture, Burton have recorded two wins, one draw and two narrow defeats against top sides Bolton and Derby County.

The 2-3 defeat against Derby on Monday was the first game in charge for new Burton manager Martin Paterson. His Burton side put in a spirited performance which they will without a doubt look to build on when facing a feeble Charlton side home at the Pirelli Stadium.

One area the new manager will look to rectify is the goalscoring department. Burton have really struggled to find the net this season, having only scored 23 goals in 27 games. Their top scorer is striker Bez Lubala with five goals, while attacking midfielder Joe Powell has found the net four times.

Another player to look out for is Manchester United loanee Joe Hugill, who just scored on his debut against Derby after coming on off the bench. The 20-year old could be handed a starting place against Charlton to get the Brewers’ attack ticking. Deji Oshilaja is obviously another interesting player to watch for Charlton supporters. Oshilaja never looked particularly convincing as a defender in most of his 42 games for Charlton, but he is now being deployed as a midfield maestro for the Brewers.

What about Charlton, then? With the transfer window open at full tilt, it is hard to even know who will be in the building come Saturday. Perhaps as preparation for a squad overhaul, Michael Appleton surprised with a 3-4-3(-ish) formation in the 1-2 defeat against Peterborough last Saturday. That change was a mixed bag to say the least, and it will be interesting to see if this was a one-off deemed a failure, or if it will be the preferred formation from now on.

Possible transfers out, in combination with a number of new players who may or may not be game ready, makes it hard to predict how Appleton will approach this match. Corey Blackett-Taylor and Scott Fraser seem to be on their way out. Chem Campbell has ended his loan and gone back to Wolves. Michael Hector has picked up a long-term injury, but former Burton-player Terry Taylor is back in training. Harry Isted is also back in contention for the first-choice goalkeeper spot. Freddie Ladapo and Uche Ikpeazu are rumored to be close to joining the Addicks, but none of them will be involved this Saturday.

Especially if Blackett-Taylor is still unavailable, my best guess is that a 3-5-2 will be the preferred set-up. Tennai Watson and Tyreece Campbell struggled against Peterborough, so I think there will be some shake-ups there. It will also be interesting to see if Appleton regards the returning Isted as first-choice goalkeeper.

However, the most urgent puzzle is the midfield positions, as all of Appleton’s available midfielders at the moment seem to primarily be holding midfielders. How Appleton balances his midfield on Saturday is therefore really anyone’s guess. Dobson, Bakinson and Coventry look to be likely starters, while Louie Watson and Fiorini could be bench options to shake things up if needed.  
 
Match prediction:
Charlton are desperate for points, but have only recorded one away win this season. Burton struggle to score goals, but their games are often evenly balanced affairs. This looks like a draw to me

Burton Albion 1 Charlton 1 (May) 

Artikeln skriven av Jørgen Sørbø, 2024-19-91, 15:05