After a feisty goalless stalemate in last week's first leg, Charlton Athletic and Wycombe Wanderers lock horns for the second leg of their League One playoff semi-final at The Valley on Thursday evening.
The victors of this two-legged contest on aggregate will face either Stockport County or Leyton Orient in the playoff final at Wembley Stadium on May 25.
Match preview
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Just under two weeks after claiming an impressive 4-0 victory at Adams Park en route to securing a fourth-placed finish in League One, Charlton were unable to find the net in a largely uninspiring and cagey first-leg playoff affair with Wycombe last Sunday.
"A war of attrition" was how head coach Nathan Jones described the match, but his side are 'not in a bad place' as the endeavour to escape the third division of English football at the fifth time of asking.
Charlton are competing in the EFL playoffs for the seventh time and for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign in League One. That season was one of only two occasions when they have earned promotion, along with the 1997-98 second-tier playoff final win against Sunderland.
The Addicks will back themselves to get the job done on Thursday and progress to Wembley, as they have only lost three of their last 23 league fixtures (W16 D3), while they also boast a 15-game unbeaten run at The Valley (W12 D3), last losing on home soil against Leyton Orient (2-0) in December.
In addition, Charlton have only lost one of their last seven encounters with Wycombe (W3 D2) - a 1-0 away defeat in April last year - so there is reason for Jones and co to be confident of securing the win they require in midweek to reach the final.
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Wycombe head coach Mike Dodds must find a way to pick his players up after a difficult few weeks in which his team have failed to win any of their last four matches, with Sunday's first-leg stalemate ending a run of three consecutive defeats.
The Chairboys were sitting in second place in League One with 84 points before losing their final three matches of the regular season to Wrexham, Leyton Orient and Stockport County to slip to fifth in the table, but the draw with Charlton keeps them in contention to reach a third League One playoff final in five years.
Wycombe were the fifth-highest scorers (70) in the regular season, but goals have been hard to come by for Dodds's men in recent weeks as they have failed to make the net ripple in five of their last nine matches, including three of their last four.
However, only League One champions Birmingham City (50) accumulated more points away from home than the Chairboys (42) in the regular season, while no team scored more away goals than the Buckinghamshire-based outfit (43), which bodes well ahead of Thursday's trip to Charlton.
January 2022 was the last time Wycombe secured a victory at The Valley (1-0), with their last two visits ending in defeat, including a 2-1 loss in December of this season when Miles Leaburn scored both of Charlton's goals in the first half.
Team News
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Charlton striker Miles Leaburn has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a thigh injury, while Gassan Ahadme, who has not played since the beginning of April, will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Jones expects Chuks Aneke to be "extremely motivated" as he is now available for selection after serving a three-game ban. The striker was sent off in the aforementioned 4-0 win at Wycombe last month for an off-the-ball incident, but he is in contention to feature on Thursday, most likely as a substitute.
Only four players in League One this season have recorded more 10+ metre progressive carries than Charlton's Tyreece Campbell (162), who also boasts the second-most shot-ending carries (40) and the joint-second most goal-ending carries (five). The attacker is expected to start again alongside Tennai Watson and Matt Godden, who has scored 18 goals this season, including six in his last nine appearances.
As for Wycombe, they will once again be without the services of Sam Vokes, Josh Scowen, Shamal George, Daniel Harvie and Beryly Lubala due to injury.
Wycombe were perhaps fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men in the first half of last weekend's first leg when striker Richard Kone was only booked for a stud-showing challenge on Kayne Ramsay. However, the League One Player and Young Player of the Season, who has 18 goals to his name this season, is available to start on Thursday.
Dodds is unlikely to make too many changes, if any, to his starting lineup, but he may be tempted to recall defender Joe Low or 37-year-old attacker Garath McCleary, the latter of whom has lost only four of his previous 14 meetings with Charlton (W7 D3).
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
Mannion; Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey, Edwards; Coventry, Docherty; T. Watson, Berry, Campbell; Godden
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Norris; Grimmer, Bradley, Taylor, Reach; Humphreys, Leahy; Onyedima, Simons, Udoh; Kone
We say: Charlton Athletic 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Both teams have prepared for the prospect of extra time and penalties as another closely-contested battle cannot be ruled out on Thursday. However, momentum means everything in the playoffs and it is difficult to ignore Charlton's exceptional unbeaten home run, which is why we are backing Jones's men to edge out Wycombe and secure their spot in the final.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
