Bristol Rovers v Charlton Athletic
Saturday 7th April 2018 … 3pm Kick-Off
Referee: Robert Lewis (Shrewsbury)
IntroductionKeeping the first two sections short for the rest of the season to add a temporary feature… Charlton travel to Bristol Rovers this Saturday in what was a repeat of the opening day of the season – Patrick Bauer scoring the sole goal of the game which saw Lee Novak sent off early doors.
The OppositionName: Bristol Rovers |
Manager: Darrell Clarke
Ground: Memorial Stadium
Tomorrow Charlton travel to Bristol Rovers looking to cap off a memorial turn around… Our opponents though shouldn’t be taken lightly… Despite losing Billy Bodin to Preston in January; Bristol Rovers have started to climb the table and sit just beyond what is an epic fight for the Play-Offs… A win for the away side should keep Charlton in the Play-Off positions, a win for the opposition and we could see yet another side joining what is already a crowded fight for just a handful of positions.
The Play-Off RaceBetween now and the end of the season all Charlton can do is focus on winning their matches and let fate take care of everything else… The ideal situation would be seven wins out of seven yet matching the scores of our rivals will be enough to secure a Play-Off position.
With just six points separating fourth and nine… a lot can go wrong for anyone of those sides… Plymouth and Peterborough having the unenvious task of facing each other this Weekend – You could say that Portsmouth have the easiest tie (a trip to Rochdale), yet with their opponents fighting for survival, nothing is guaranteed at this late stage... Rotherham will play host to Fleetwood (a side rejuvenated under John Sheridan), the Millers will be looking to bounce back quickly after their heavy loss to the Addicks last Saturday.
You’d have to be a brave betting man to predict how it’ll all end up!!
Charlton Team NewsAs Charlton continue to wait for their takeover, good news finally came out of Sparrows Lane this week with Lee Bowyer confirmed as Manager until the end of the season… the ex-Youth product making a storming success since his promotion to the hot seat and am sure many Addicks fans cant wait to see how events unfold in Bristol tomorrow.
For three games; Lee has confirmed that he’s been reluctant to make changes, yet against Rotherham finally overcame that reluctance in impressive style with Ezri Konsa and Jay Dasilva returning to their respective full back slots – You’d expect both to appear tomorrow, yet with Tariqe Fosu now injured for two weeks (groin), we could see the Chelsea loanee pushed forward more with Lewis Page returning to the Defence.
Ahmed Kashi has also now returned and is available for selection, giving Lee Bowyer an even bigger headache.
Amos
Konsa | Bauer | Pearce | Page
Reeves | Aribo | Forster-Caskey | Dasilva
Zyro | Ajose
Substitutes Bench: Phillips | Sarr | Kashi | Mavididi | Kaikai | Magennis | Marshall
PredictionUnfortunately I don’t see our rivals dropping many points now and its important that we lose as few as possible… With important games coming up against four teams fighting for promotion, its imperative that we win the games against the rest – Failure to take three points tomorrow and it’ll be an anxious look at the results around us!!
Comments
0-1....hopefully
What I meant in the prediction section was I dont any of the teams dropping many points against the Rochdale's and Fleetwood's of the league - they'll have the same mentality as us... those matches are the must wins, the games against the rivals, no one can afford to lose.
Would be lovely if we can go to Rovers tomorrow and get the same scoreline as last season - Do wonders for the Goal Difference
2-1 charlton. coming from a goal down.
What I think the XI will be:
Amos
Dijksteel Bauer Pearce DaSilva
...............F-Caskey
..........Reeves........Aribo
................Mavididi
............Zyro.......Ajose
Bench: Phillips, Konsa, Page, Kashi, Kaikai, Marshall, Magennis
I think that last place on the bench, assuming Kashi is fit, is between Sarr and Marshall. FA I noticed you don't even have Dijksteel in your squad, which I could see. But I think he's been good at RB, and as good as I think Konsa has been this season he didn't do anything that floored me on Monday. So I think it's Dijksteel back in with Konsa moving to the bench.
Other question is who comes in for Fosu, and if we make a change at the top of the diamond or go to a flat 4-4-2. There were times on Monday when we looked to be playing flatter, with Kaikai left and Reeves right. I think it marganalizes Reeves and I don't think Aribo has the tactical discipline to play in a midfield two in a 4-4-2, even with DaSilva left and Reeves tucking in. I think bringing Mav into the team, assuming he's fit enough for 60-70 minutes would be ideal, with Kaikai the other option from the bench.
The other route would be to bring Konsa into midfield on one side of the diamond and move Aribo to the 10 role. I think Aribo has shown that he really excels when he has space in front of him to run in to, and he's not particularly impressed as a 10.
I've had my head turned............... 2-1 away win with Ajose getting both.
Team and bench looking strong, though
COYR
Regardless of who plays at full-back I don't think this defence is going to be troubled too much tomorrow, Jackson has got the back-line well-drilled and much more in control than under the previous manager.
A run-of-the-mill 2-0 victory for the Addicks, saving a bit of energy for Tuesday's match. Hopefully young Nicky will get his long-overdue and much-deserved goal, the other goal coming from midfield.
agree with @palarsehater 4 points from next 2 games is the aim
Ajose finally gets his goal.
Safe journey to all travelling Addicks
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to see
Charlton win away.
Rovers reckon their Play-Off hopes are over, with a number of senior players out, they'll be relying on their U23s
http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/sport/16139415.charlton-injury-update-tariqe-fosu-ruled-out-for-two-weeks-but-ahmed-kashi-returns/