Charlton Athletic are back on home turf this Saturday after two gruelling trips to in-form Southampton before facing West Brom in a six-pointer down in which they picked up a hard earned two points.
The Addicks showed their mettle coming back from a goal down in both those matches after Sonny Carey’s 67th minute equaliser against the Saints.
Lyndon Dykes smart finish 20 minutes from time against the Baggies was a huge one as they battle to stave off relegation.
The fixtures do not get any easier for the Reds as the relentless Championship schedule will see them play their fifth game in 17 days as they take on playoff hopefuls Wrexham AFC at The Valley.
Having played three games in a week for the two weeks prior, the South East London side will finally get a rest.
This is before they endure another tough test at home as they play Birmingham City who themselves are hoping to force their way into the top six come May.
Another midweek fixture away to Middlesbrough who will be looking to get back on track in the battle for automatic promotion.
We expect them not give Charlton any respite as they try and maintain their seven-point gap that they have over current third bottom Leicester City.
With those three difficult fixtures on the horizon, the Addicks will be looking nervously looking over their shoulder.
As their recent point against high-flyers Southampton showed, they can still find a way to pick up much-needed points as they edge closer to their goal at the start of the season.
Here are four ways in which the Addicks can spring a surprise and take points off their next three opponents.
Having both Miles Leaburn and Lyndon Dykes up front together has yielded mixed results so far in their three appearances.
After an all important 2-0 win over Leicester City back in January, the last two apperances that have featured that duo have been less impressive.
The Addicks were struggling to get up the pitch with the two target men with them 2-0 down at half time against Portsmouth, which saw the 22-year-old taken off at half time and replaced by Tyreece Campbell.
Away at The Hawthorns on Tuesday night the Charlton academy graduate was also replaced for the second half by Campbell.
This highlights the issue of Nathan Jones’s line-ups, where he is struggling to get the balance right in the forward ranks.
Whilst Dykes and Leaburn are 6ft2 and 6ft7 respectively, they do lack in mobility.
The only semblance of pace comes from wing backs Luke Chambers and Harry Clarke, who are knocking the ball down in to the box only for no one to latch onto is not conducive to creating a number of clear cut chances.
Dykes whose contract at Charlton expires at the end of the season having signed a six month deal in January has been impressive so far with two goals and three assists in nine matches.
This included that all important equaliser against West Brom suggesting he deserves to retain his place.
His knack for a goal and his more polished link play than Leaburn means he should start alongside a pacy forward like Charlie Kelman who has flattered to deceive since his £3.5m move from QPR .
Matty Godden has similar attributes but unfortunately for him he has been on the treatment table for a lot of the season and is currently out with a hamstring injury.
Tyreece Campbell looks to be more effective when he is coming off the bench in matches and making an impact just like he did in the Reds last win against Stoke City.
Birmingham City’s eight match unbeaten run ended pretty spectacularly as they suffered a resounding 3-0 defeat away to a strong Millwall side
They scored twice in the space of six first-half minutes, which took the game away from the Blues as they slumped five points off the playoffs.
In that run the second city side beat the current bottom two Sheffield Wednesday and Oxford United away from home.
This was followed by hanging on against Norwich City despite having scored two goals within the first 15 minutes of the match, before just about snatching a point away to Swansea City.
The Addicks have scored in 14 of their 16 home matches so far this campaign.
They have only failed to do so inexplicably in their defeat to Leicester City and goalless draw against QPR, although they dominated for large periods in both matches.
If the hosts make a strong start, they can repeat their success that they had over their fellow promoted side from last season, where they succumbed Birmingham to their first of only three defeats in League One.
Birmingham’s away form has really let their season down as they aimed to reach the top six and despite those three away successes in their last four games.
They only sit 16th in the away table, with them picking up 18 points from as many games as well as being the joint fourth lowest scorers on their travels.
Despite their strong up turn in performances and results post the January transfer window, Charlton have the potential to cause a surprise and inflict another away defeat against the Blues.
Even if Middlesbrough fail to take maximum points against their next two opponents Birmingham City and QPR, they will go into the fixture against Charlton as heavy favourites.
This is more or less certain considering their record as the third-best home side in the Championship this season with Charlton having won just three of their 18 games on their travels.
In their last three matches Boro have failed to win against Coventry City, Oxford United and Leicester City despite having 72%, 74% and 60% possession in those matches.
In the three Charlton victories on the road they surrendered 63% of the ball to Sheffield United and 68% to Ipswich Town,
They only had a higher possession against Leicester City by virtue of them having 10 players after Caleb Okoli’s early red card.
Even in their last two matches where they picked up those crucial draws against Southampton and West Brom they only had 28% of the ball against the Saints and 41% against the Baggies
This highlights the need for the Reds to stay compact, sit deep and then press on the counter if the chance presents itself.
With Charlton unlikely to have a lot the ball against one of the best ball-playing sides in the divison, Nathan Jones could revert to moving Kayne Ramsay from right centre-back to the right-wing-back position
The move would allow another centre back to fill in for more of a flat 5-3-2 formation, with Harry Clarke potentially being used as a super sub if players are tiring.
The former Luton and Southampton manager Jones has kept the same midfield trio for the past six game starting from their massive victory against Leicester City.
Whilst this line-up will have to change for the game against Wrexham, with January recruit Conor Coady being on loan from the Welsh side this could now be the time for squad players to get minutes.
As mentioned earlier, the front two of Miles Leaburn and Lyndon Dykes is seemingly not gelling together, so could Charlie Kelman who scored away at the SToK Cae Ras last season get his chance
Some say he deserves a chance especially having started just once after being hauled off at half time in their victory against Sheffield United.
He has also played just 15 minutes in their last four matches which includes two unused subs apperances against Stoke and West Brom.
If Lloyd Jones who came off with 10 minutes of the first half remaining against West Brom having started every single game for the Reds in the Championship this season is not fit, questions will be asked who replaces him.
It may be the turn to give Collins Sichenje his first home outing, having featured in their last two games, including winning Charlton’s MOTM award on his debut.
Jayden Fevrier has impressed in brief cameos including scoring a consolation goal against Portsmouth and instinctively ducking which allow the ball to reach Dykes path
He could be an option if the 52-year-old manager Jones reverts from playing with wing-backs to a back four formation, which could also pave the way for Tyreece Campbell to return to the starting line up.
Their are lots of big decisions to be made for Jones with that one enforced change against Wrexham already.
However with players looking on their feet in recent matches, rotation may need to be enforced if the Addicks want to push themselves out of any danger of returning back to League One for 2026/27.
