Charlton Athletic will hit the road again when they travel south to take on Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Saturday afternoon, hoping to make it five wins on the bounce.
A 2-0 midweek victory against Oxford United extended the side’s winning streak to four games and means the Addicks have now gone seven-and-a-half hours of League One football without conceding.
The win also moved Lee Bowyer’s men into the play-off places and just one point behind Saturday’s hosts.
Portsmouth are in fine form themselves, coming into the game on the back of an emphatic 4-0 victory against Northampton Town to make it three wins on the spin for Kenny Jackett’s side.
They sit in fifth place from their nine League One fixtures, with the Addicks having a game in hand.
Team News
Jason Pearce (knee), Deji Oshilaja (foot), Alex Gilbey (Achilles), and Alfie Doughty (hamstring) remain unavailable, while Ryan Inniss and Ben Watson are to serve their respective one-match bans after picking up suspensions against Oxford United.
Adam Matthews re-joined the club on a one-year deal on Monday and Lee Bowyer could call on the Wales international to solve his defensive shortcomings caused by the absences of the aforementioned Pearce, Oshilaja, and Inniss.
The hosts will be without winger Michael Jacobs (knee), though Ellis Harrison is in contention after stepping up his recovery from a hamstring injury suffered against Doncaster Rovers.
Jordy Hiwula is pushing for his first minutes in a Portsmouth shirt after joining on a free from Coventry City. The striker was an unused substitute for Kenny Jackett’s side against Sunderland and Northampton.
Head-to-Head
Charlton and Portsmouth have shared 108 meetings, the Addicks winning 36 and Pompey 45, with nothing to separate the sides in the remaining 27 encounters.
The last fixture came in March 2019 at The Valley in what was a 2-1 victory for Charlton with goals from Joe Aribo and Lyle Taylor either side of Ronan Curtis’ strike for Portsmouth.
Addicks boss Lee Bowyer could only watch on from the stands that day as he served the second of his three-match ban following his dismissal against AFC Wimbledon.
Charlton’s last encounter on the south coast was in December 2018 and saw the Addicks return to SE7 with all three points. First-half goals from frontmen Karlan Grant and Nicky Ajose put Charlton in the ascendancy, though Andre Green’s late strike gave the hosts a consolation goal.
Ones To Watch
Andrew Shinnie
The attacking midfielder was the match-winner for the Addicks on Tuesday night with a goal and an assist.
Shinnie unlocked the Oxford defence after 31 minutes with a smart turn and through ball which found Conor Washington who slotted past Simon Eastwood for his third of the season and Charlton’s opener on the night.
The 31-year-old then doubled his side’s lead right on the stroke of half-time when he caught U’s keeper Eastwood off-guard, firing home a free-kick from the edge of the box into the top-right corner.
The Scot joined the Addicks on a season-long loan from Championship outfit Luton Town earlier this month. He excelled for the Hatters in their League One title-winning season and was awarded the players’ player of the year award.
John Marquis
The Lewisham-born striker has five goals in his last three outings, with braces against Northampton and Sunderland and a well-taken goal against Gillingham.
The 28-year-old has a prolific goal-scoring record in League One. Marquis netted 61 goals in 134 games for Doncaster Rovers which prompted Pompey to secure his services last summer.
“Charlton Athletic” by Ewan-M is licensed under CC BY-SA
