Charlton Athletic stumbled to a third defeat in four matches in the Championship on the weekend when they were dealt a 2-1 defeat away from home at Preston North End, and although they return to The Valley for this Tuesday night clash, they’ll be up against an in-form Fulham outfit.
Recent defeats to Derby County, Swansea City and the aforementioned Preston result means that Charlton Athletic remain in the lower reaches of the Championship in 19th place but hold an important 5-point cushion above the bottom three.
Nevertheless, manager, Lee Bowyer, will be desperate for his side to put an end to this 4-match spell without a win in the second tier as they’ve gained just 1 point from the last possible 12 on offer, thanks to a 2-2 draw at home with Championship leaders, West Brom.
At The Valley, Charlton have collected 5 wins, 4 draws and 5 defeats to date but The Addicks are unbeaten in their last 3 matches at home which includes draws with Hull City and West Brom along with a 3-2 win against Bristol City.
Onto Fulham, and by contrast, The Cottagers are fairly flying at the moment as they collected a third win in four matches in the Championship on the weekend when they recorded a 1-0 home win against fast-improving Middlesbrough at Craven Cottage.
Earlier wins against Stoke City and Hull City have kept Fulham in the frame for an automatic promotion spot despite a 2-1 defeat at home against a rejuvenated Reading outfit.
Another three points for the visitors in this upcoming encounter at Charlton would see Fulham move to within 1 point of 2nd placed Leeds United.
There’s plenty of incentive then for Scott Parker’s side as they prepare for this relatively short trip to south-east London, on the back of a 1-0 win away at Hull City last time out on their travels.
The visitors have lost just 3 of their last 12 away matches in the Championship and they’ve lost just once in their last 12 meetings against Charlton as well, so Fulham will be in reasonably confident mood that they can grab all three points here against a beleaguered Charlton outfit in this all-London clash.