Charlton Athletic will be hoping to turn their recent draws into a more positive result on Tuesday when they host Bolton Wanderers at The Valley.
The hosts have only won once so far, while the visitors are pushing for consecutive promotions this season as they sit just outside of the playoffs.
Match preview
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After narrowly missing out on the playoffs last season by goal difference, there was an expectation for Charlton Athletic to kick on this time around and make a push for it once again.
However, things have not gone to plan in the opening nine games, with the Addicks currently in the relegation zone after a tough start to the new campaign.
The team have struggled to get things going, with the 2-0 win against Crewe Alexandra at the end of August being the only victory of their season so far.
Even though it has been a difficult period, Nigel Adkins has seen some improvements within his group during their past two games, having managed consecutive draws.
After a 1-1 with Gillingham, Charlton managed to fight from behind twice against Portsmouth at the weekend to earn another point, with a late Josh Davison goal rescuing the result.
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On the other hand, Bolton have adapted to the new season well after being promoted from League Two and they have managed to secure 12 points with three wins, draws and losses in the opening nine games.
While the Trotters have not been able to build up consistency in terms of results, their performances have been excellent as the club begin to push for consecutive promotions.
Defensive duties have been a slight problem for Bolton, as they have actually conceded the same number of goals as Charlton, despite being much higher up in the table, which could lead to an open game on Tuesday night.
Ian Evatt's team have lost their last two matches against Rotherham United and Sunderland, with their last victory coming prior to that when they defeated Ipswich Town 5-2.
A victory has the potential to put Bolton into a playoff position heading into the weekend which would be an ideal situation for the club.
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Team News
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Alex Gilbey was brought into the Charlton starting XI at the weekend, making his first start for the club and he could be in contention once again on Tuesday.
After coming off the bench to score the equaliser, Davison may have done enough to have earned a place in the team as well, providing Adkins with a real attacking option.
Bolton were dealt a blow during the defeat to Sunderland at the weekend as Lloyd Isgrove had to come off during the second half when he suffered a head injury.
With the concussion rules that are in place nowadays, Isgrove is now going to be unavailable for 10 days in order for him to fully recover, which will force Evatt into making a change to his starting lineup on Tuesday.
Amadou Bakayoko is also sidelined for the Trotters with a calf injury, while Xavier Amaechi is not expected to return to the squad until the back end of October.
Another recent injury that the club is dealing with is Andrew Tutte who has recently undergone surgery following a hamstring problem that is set to keep him out of action until next year.
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
MacGillivray; Matthews, Lavelle, Pearce, Souare; Arter, Watson, Gilbey; Leko, Lee, Stockley
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Dixon; Jones, Santos, Johnston, Gordon; Williams, Sheehan; Afolayan, Sarcevic, Kachunga; Doyle
We say: Charlton Athletic 2-3 Bolton Wanderers
Considering the fact that neither team has been brilliant defensively, this could end up being a high-scoring game with a lot of opportunities for both.
However, with Bolton having started the season a little stronger at the moment, their confidence should be enough to push them through to take all three points.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Charlton Athletic win with a probability of 39.04%. A win for Bolton Wanderers had a probability of 34.42% and a draw had a probability of 26.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Charlton Athletic win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.21%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.42%) and 2-0 (6.81%). The likeliest Bolton Wanderers win was 0-1 (9.47%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.62%). The actual scoreline of 1-4 was predicted with a 1% likelihood.
