Preview: Charlton Athletic vs. Wigan Athletic

Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s League One clash between Charlton Athletic and Wigan Athletic, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Charlton Athletic will have the opportunity to extend their unbeaten run to 12 matches when they face Wigan Athletic in Tuesday’s League One fixture.

In contrast to their hosts, the Latics are hoping to end a poor spell of form, having failed to win any of their last three matches.

Match preview
© Reuters

Since losing his first game in charge, Charlton boss Nathan Jones has sparked a remarkable upturn in fortunes, overseeing an 11-game unbeaten run to move them 10 points clear of the drop zone.

The Addicks played out three consecutive draws, before they returned to winning ways in Saturday’s home clash with Barnsley.

After seeing his opener cancelled out by Adam Phillips, Alfie May netted his second goal of the game to guide the Addicks to a narrow 2-1 victory.

While they have all but secured their safety, Charlton will still want to finish the season on the front foot, especially with the chance to achieve a top-half finish.

The Addicks also have the opportunity to complete a league double over Wigan after claiming a narrow 3-2 victory in October’s reverse fixture.

Despite having to contend with an eight-point deduction, Wigan have managed to steer well clear of the bottom four this season.

The Latics, who sit two points above Charlton in 13th place, have experienced a slight dropoff in recent weeks, having won just one of their last five matches.

Shaun Maloney’s side followed a defeat to Wycombe Wanderers with a win over Blackpool, before going on to experience underwhelming results against three relegation-threatened sides.

After drawing 1-1 with Burton Albion, the Latics fell to a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Cambridge United, before playing out a goalless affair in Saturday’s home clash with Port Vale.

Wigan’s hopes of claiming all three points on Tuesday will be tempered by the fact they have lost four of their previous five away matches (D1).

Charlton Athletic League One form:

Wigan Athletic League One form:

Team News
© Reuters

Charlton forward Miles Leaburn remains unavailable due to a hamstring problem, while there is doubt surrounding the availability of Lloyd Jones and Connor Wickham.

Kayne Ramsay is likely to retain his place in the lineup after he returns from injury to play nearly an hour in Saturday’s win over Barnsley.

May is currently leading the League One scoring charts, and he will be looking to add to his 23-goal tally when he features against Wigan.

The Latics are unable to call upon winger Jordan Jones and forward Josh Stones due to their respective fitness issues.

Wigan could also be without the services of Sean Clare, Luke Chambers, Josh Magennis and Stephen Humphrys after the quartet missed the draw with Port Vale through injury.

Callum McManaman is set to retain his place in the side after he returned from injury to play nearly 70 minutes against the Valiants.

Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
Isted; Hector, Thomas, Gillesphey; Ramsay, Dobson, Anderson, Coventry, Small; May, Kanu

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Tickle; Kerr, Hughes, Goode; S Smith, Adeeko, M Smith, Sessegnon; McManaman, Aasgard, Godo

We say: Charlton Athletic 2-1 Wigan Athletic
While Charlton are proving to be a tough team to beat, the Latics have lost each of their last three away games, and we think the hosts will take advantage of Wigan’s away-day struggles to record a narrow victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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