After making a solid start upon their return to the Championship, Charlton Athletic will be wary of some recent ordinary results which has threatened to undo all the good work in the early weeks of this new campaign.
Charlton started the new Championship season with a promising 6-match unbeaten sequence under manager, Lee Bowyer, (who had guided them back up to the second tier), with victories against Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City, Brentford and Reading as well as picking up points in draws with Barnsley and Nottingham Forest.
However, The Addicks have picked up just 1 more win from their subsequent 5 matches which, nonetheless, was an impressive 1-0 home win over high-flying Leeds United, but recent losses to Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic and Swansea City should serve as a wake-up call for the hosts.
With recent form experiencing a bit of a dip at the moment, the handicap or goal markets should be an option here and 3 of Charlton’s 6 home matches to date have seen both teams score.
Visitors, Derby County, are starting to now find their feet under new manager, Philip Cocu, as they went into the international break on the back of a solid 2-0 home win against Luton Town which extended The Rams’ unbeaten run to 5 matches overall in the Championship.
Derby’s recent upturn in fortunes is in stark contrast to the start of their campaign where they managed to register just 1 win out of their first 6 matches of the season which was an opening day 2-1 win away at Huddersfield Town.
Derby then failed to win any of their subsequent 7 matches under Cocu, but then recorded a much-needed 3-2 home win against Birmingham City which was a touch fortunate as Birmingham missed a penalty, but this recent unbeaten run has helped The Rams up into a more respectable mid-table position.
It should be noted though that Derby have managed to register just 3 wins in the Championship so far this season and just 1 away from home, but both teams have scored in 4 of Derby County’s 5 away matches so far this term, so this option looks an encouraging one to exploit.
With neither side putting together any kind of consistent winning streak, the both teams to score option looks the most likely outcome here.