MATCH PREVIEW | Oxford United v Charlton

Charlton travel to Oxford United on Good Friday as the race for automatic-promotion hots up in Sky Bet League One (1pm).

The Addicks extended their unbeaten run to 11 matches and closed the gap on the top two to just three points with an impressive 3-1 win over table-topping Luton Town on Saturday.

Lee Bowyer’s team will face another tough test on Good Friday, though, with a trip to The Kassam Stadium for a clash against in-form Oxford United.

The U’s have managed to drag themselves away from relegation danger in recent weeks after winning four and drawing two of their last six league matches under the stewardship of former Addicks boss Karl Robinson.

Fans unable to attend Friday's game can listen to live commentary on Valley Pass by clicking here.

Lewis Page and Jake Forster-Caskey both featured in the U23s’ 3-0 win over Burnley on Tuesday for the first time since picking up long-term injuries earlier in the campaign. However, Good Friday will come too soon for both of these players as their journey back to full match-sharpness continues.

Apart from those long-term absentees, there are no fresh injury concerns for Bowyer to have to contend with.

Ex-Addick Ahmed Kashi will be available for Oxford after serving his one-match suspension for getting sent-off in Oxford’s 3-1 win over Walsall two weeks ago. Marcus Browne still has to sit out another two matches for receiving a straight red card in the same game, though.

Shandon Baptiste, Rob Hall and Jon Obika are the only other unavailable players for Good Friday’s opponents.

Charlton boss Lee Bowyer: “The Luton game was the best performance of the season. We were playing against a team that is going to win the league. I thought we were better than them from start to finish.

“I think all games between now and the end of the season are banana skins, there are no easy games. That’s not just for us that’s for everyone.”

Oxford United boss Karl Robinson: “We look forward and we’re in a good place. It’s all smiles around the place at the moment. We’re on 53 points so we’re still nine clear of the bottom four, but they’ve all got to play each other and there’s only four games to go.

"Charlton are a fantastic football club. I speak with Bowyer every other day on the phone and Jacko was my captain for a long time.”

Charlton and Oxford have met 43 times over the years, with the Addicks winning 17 of those games, drawing 15 and losing 11.

Earlier on in the season, Charlton and Oxford shared the spoils on Robinson’s first return to The Valley. Lyle Taylor gave the Addicks the lead from the penalty spot in the first-half, but the Addicks were pegged back 20 minutes from time through a long-range strike from Gavin Whyte.

Remote Stream

Darren Drysdale will take charge of Charlton’s visit to The Kassam Stadium on Good Friday.

Drysdale officiated Charlton’s 5-3 defeat at Scunthorpe United in early-October. He’s been in charge of 32 games in all competitions this season, brandishing 110 yellow cards and three reds. 

His assistants will be Stuart Butler and Kevin Howick, with Paul Graham as the fourth official.

There will be around 1,800 supporters cheering on the Addicks from a SOLD OUT away end on Friday. There will be no tickets available to away supporters.

Supporters can follow all the build-up to the game on Charlton's official Instagram account, official Twitter account, Facebook page and official Snapchat account.

Live commentary of the clash - presented by ITRM - will be available on Valley Pass exclusively for subscribers. Please click here for more information on how you can subscribe to Valley Pass and how you can purchase a 48-hour matchday pass, which is priced at just £4.

Remote Stream

Read Time: 4 mins