Charlton will be looking to return to winning ways on Tuesday night when they travel to the Pirelli Stadium to face Burton Albion (7pm).
The Addicks came from behind to earn a point against Gillingham on Saturday thanks to a late strike from Chuks Aneke, which stretched the side’s unbeaten run to eight league games. Lee Bowyer’s side now sit fifth in the Sky Bet League One table with games in hand on those above them.
Burton are yet to win since defeating Accrington Stanley 2-1 in their first home game of the season back in September and come into Tuesday’s fixture on the back of a 3-1 loss to Northampton Town which has left the Brewers rock-bottom in the League One table.
Team News
Alex Gilbey will be eyeing his first Addicks start since September after featuring for the final 23 minutes at Gillingham, as will club captain Jason Pearce who was an unused substitute at the Priestfield Stadium.
Bowyer will be hoping midfield duo Jonny Williams (groin) and Jake Forster-Caskey (hamstring) will be available after minor knocks kept them out on Saturday, while Deji Oshilaja (foot) is also in contention to make Bowyer’s matchday squad after his inclusion in a training ground friendly at Sparrows Lane against Luton Town last Monday.
Alfie Doughty (hamstring) remains sidelined and is joined by defensive duo Ryan Inniss (quad) and Akin Famewo (hamstring), though the Norwich City loanee is expected to return to full training this week.
For Burton, Sam Hughes is available after serving his one-match ban at the weekend, though manager Jake Buxton will have to make late calls on Jack Roles and Teddy Sharman-Lowe after the duo returned from international duty with niggles that kept them out against Northampton on Saturday.
Kane Hemmings (quad) is expected to miss out for the hosts, while Burton will be monitoring the fitness of Kieran Wallace and Colin Daniel who have been self-isolating.
Ones To Watch
Chuks Aneke
Saturday’s goalscorer has endured an injury-ridden Addicks career thus far which has restricted him to just one start in League One this season, as manager Lee Bowyer continues to manage Aneke’s minutes with great caution.
The 27-year-old’s impact from the bench is clear, however, with the Arsenal academy graduate netting three goals as a substitute this campaign – including a late winner against Blackpool and his equaliser at Gillingham, as well as his goal which all but secured the three points against Portsmouth.
All three of those goals have come on the road, a statistic that bodes well for the Addicks with the next games both away at Burton Albion and Ipswich Town, and Charlton fans will be eager to see Aneke’s attacking influence from the outset with the forward averaging 1.17 goals every 90 minutes this season.
Lucas Akins
The 31-year-old netted from the penalty spot in his two appearances for Burton against Charlton and will be hoping history can repeat itself on Tuesday night. It was a goalscoring return for Akins on Saturday as he led the Brewers line again following his period of self-isolation, though his stoppage-time penalty was nothing but of a consolation goal for Jake Buxton’s men.
Akins now has three goals in League One this season and will be looking to build on his club record for the most goals in the English Football League. The striker arrived at the Pirelli Stadium in 2014 from Stevenage.
Head-to-Head
Tuesday’s encounter will be just the fourth meeting between the two sides, with the Addicks winning on all three previous occasions.
The last fixture came during Charlton’s 2018/19 promotion season when the Brewers came to The Valley in March, with first-half goals from Lyle Taylor and Ben Reeves enough to secure all three points.
Charlton’s last visit to the Pirelli Stadium came in November 2018 in an encounter which saw the Addicks come from behind to win 2-1 and take the points back to SE7 thanks to a first-half penalty from Karlan Grant and a dramatic 88th-minute winner from Jason Pearce.
