Bristol Rovers have little time to lick their wounds suffered from Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at home to Wycombe Wanderers as they host Charlton Athletic on Tuesday evening, looking to put an end to this wretched run of form.
Four losses in a row have seen the Gas plunge down the league table and into the relegation zone after what had been seen as a bright start to the campaign in which seven points were taken from the opening four games.
Having led for the best part of an hour on Saturday while Wycombe had the lead for just one minute, Saturday’s loss was no doubt the most painful and it’s no secret that Matt Taylor is now a man under pressure.
As we seem to say ahead of every game in League One, it certainly doesn’t get any easier as Charlton head to the Mem. Although, the Addicks are in somewhat mixed form and certainly see Rovers as a bogey side.
The Gas have done the double over the South London outfit in both their seasons back in League One, a run of four consecutive wins, and clinched both 2-1 victories last term with late winners.
However, there has evidently been a positive response to Nathan Jones’ arrival at the Valley with the former Southampton, Luton Town and Stoke City boss taking the helm not long after Charlton’s last visit to the Mem at the end of 2023. The Addicks currently sit eighth in League One on the back of consecutive defeats to Blackpool and Stevenage respectively. Prior to those losses, Jones’ men had 13 points from their opening six matches.
As one of eight former Premier League clubs in the third tier, Charlton will always be seen as a juggernaut at this level. But what can we expect from the South Londoners not only tomorrow night, but over the course of this season? Bristol Live spoke to Louis Mendez, host of the Charlton Live podcast to get the lowdown on all things Charlton…
What is the expectation at Charlton in what looks set to be the strongest League One ever?
Charlton fans are always expectant ahead of any campaign in League One. Most accepted that automatic promotion would be a stretch this year due to the strength of the league but many hoped they had a chance of pushing for the top six.
The start has been a mixed bag. Defensively charlton have tightened up a lot from last season but lack fluidity going forward. It means plenty of the games have been tight with the odd goal deciding it – they were going in Charlton’s favour at the start but not in the last few.
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Who are the key players to look out for on Tuesday?
Tyreece Campbell has been one of Charlton’s bigger threats going forward, along with Chuks Aneke who is the very definition of a super sub. Defensively, Lloyd Jones has impressed this term.
Is there genuine belief that Cardiff City could pinch Nathan Jones? What’s the situation there?
Jones has openly admitted that, as a Cardiff fan, he’d love to manage the club one day. But he’s happy in SE7 at the moment and there’s a level of compensation the Bluebirds would have to pay to pry him away from the Addicks that it seems unlikely they’d want to part with.
What have you made of Rovers’ start to the campaign as an outsider?
They’re conceding too many goals which is always a recipe for disaster. They have a good manager though in former Addicks defender Matt Taylor who will hopefully have the tools to stem that flow.
How do you think the game will go and what’s your predicted line up?
Two contrasting styles is seems as Charlton’s games have been fairly low scoring unlike the Gas. But the Addicks will try and get Rovers on the back-foot if they can find a way to build some pressure. 2-1 Charlton.
In terms of a line up, it’s a massive guess as he’s made 6 changes last time out but I’ll go for 3-5-2 of Will Mannion; Zach Mitchell, Lloyd Jones, Dan Potts; Kayne Ramsay, Conor Coventry, Karoy Anderson, Greg Docherty, Josh Edwards; Gassan Ahadme, Tyreece Campbell.