MATCH PREVIEW: Charlton Athletic vs Coventry City - New Years Day: 3pm Kick-Off

Charlton Athletic vs Coventry City
New Years Day - 3pm Kick-Off
Referee: Josh Smith

Introduction
Football can be a very cruel mistress at times, it can get to the point where you think that things could possibly start going your way, you could even see a point rescued at the death, but still that mistress can find a way to turn around a kick you squarely in the bollocks. I guess in some regard that we can't overly complain, given the plenty of occasions that we've scored late goals over the last twelve months... Tomorrow its New Years Day, a chance for fresh beginnings, a new start... We could do with it.

The Opposition
Name: Coventry City (1st) - Manager: Frank Lampard
Ground: Ricoh Arena
Previous League Result: Coventry 0-2 Ipswich

What isn't handy is the fact that we'll be starting 2026 in the hardest possible away, with the Addicks welcoming the League Leaders to the Valley, what doesnt help either is the fact that Coventry make the trip to South East London this Thursday, looking to put their own promotion push back on track. Defeat against Ipswich on Monday evening was their first loss at home this season, whilst the Sky Blues have started to stumble on the road a bit of late, they make the trip to the corner of London, having picked up just two draws in their last three matches on the road, and since the end of November, have just three wins in total.

The first of those three wins, came of course against Charlton, who for 30-minutes looked comfortable against the side who have ran away with the Championship in the first half of the season. Had Amari'i Bell remained on the pitch for a lot longer, then thing could have been very different that Saturday afternoon, with Coventry eventually running out 3-1 winners.

In terms of the danger men for Coventry, and Jack Rudoni will be a key man to watch, our good start to the game at the Ricoh was partly caused by the fact that Bell was able to mark him out of the match, and with the Defender playing the entirety of Mondays game against Portsmouth, it could be a tactic that we opt to rely upon once more. Looking at the difference between the line-up from November, and Coventry's last match, and they will be able to rely upon American Striker: Haji Wright who was absent for the reverse clash, whilst Brandon Thomas-Asante will remain a key loss, what with Adam Armstrong (Southampton) having scored just two goals more than the Coventry star man.

Charlton Team News
It wasn't just the fact that we lost to a relegation rival on Monday night, but also the manner of how we lost to them... Equalising so late in such an important game, and you're going to think that you've just about done a job, so to lose it within the next ten seconds is going to be brutal. Hopefully we'll see a response on the pitch as a result this coming Thursday afternoon, and whilst the form guide will of course point towards a Coventry win, form is another aspect of the game that the cruel mistress can often laugh at, just take Wolves at Man Utd last night for example... Stranger Things can happen.

Sadly though we don't have any Footballers who can control the ball with their mind, but there were positives from Mondays defeat on the South Coast; Both Reece Burke and Amari'i Bell made their return from injury, and for the most part, our defence looked stronger as a result. However both played many more minutes than what were expected, so I would be surprised if we were to see both from the start on New Years Day, as a result I'd expect Keenan Gough to make a second start at this level, especially with Kayne Ramsay now absent with a hamstring injury... Elsewhere and I'd expect very few changes, Joe Rankin Costello made a claim for a place in Midfield, whilst Harvey Knibbs could be opted from the start, after getting on the score sheet once more... Just with very little reward.

Kaminski
Gough - Jones - Bell
Bree - Coventry - Costello - Campbell
Knibbs
Kelman - Leaburn

Substitutes Bench: Mannion - Gillesphey - Burke - Apter - Carey - Berry - Docherty - Olaofe - Fullah