Back-to-back at Pride Park?
Charlton travel to Derby on Monday night as two former Premier League sides are chasing a return to the promised land. Can Lee Bowyer’s side build on their win over Bristol City? Have a read of our preview here:
Charlton on the brink
Charlton’s long-awaited takeover arrived after years of suffering at the hands of Belgian businessman Roland Duchatelet. The move is still subject to EFL approval but there is a sense that things could be about to change for the better.
In the short-term, Lee Bowyer needs to add some depth to his squad in the January window even if it is to only bring in a couple of new faces to give his side a boost. Their 3-2 win over Bristol City on Boxing Day was their first league win in 12 attempts and will have given everyone a massive boost ahead of the trip to Pride Park.
The Addicks have a reliance on Conor Gallagher who leads the team in chances created (16), completed key passes (17) and successful dribbles (52).
The on-loan Chelsea man has been superb and has also netted six times and bagged two assists in the Championship so far. He is certainly the man to watch, but there should be no hiding from the fact Lee Bowyer is the star of this show and should be given a knighthood for what he has achieved under very difficult circumstances.
Not so Pride Park
Derby’s first stint under a foreign manager in their club’s history has not exactly been a resounding success. Philip Cocu’s side have really struggled and they are now seven games without a win in the second tier.
The main issue has been scoring goals with only bottom club Wigan having found the net fewer times than the Rams this season.
Martyn Waghorn is their top scorer with seven while Tom Lawrence has five but they have no other players making a telling contribution which is really hurting their pre-season aspirations of being a lot closer to the play-off places than they currently are.
Cocu will be under pressure to turn things around but it is hard to see how he does that without a recruitment drive in January, something that is notoriously hard to do.
Derby vs Charlton betting tip
Derby’s current woes do appear to be stopping any time soon and although Charlton’s form is hardly better you feel the win on Boxing Day could help their confidence so backing Charlton to win at odds of 33/10 with Royal Panada looks a good shout here.
Post bet chat James's Tips:
Charlton were poor and lost to a Derby side who had 10 men for much of the game