MATCH PREVIEW | Charlton v Portsmouth

The Addicks welcome fellow promotion-hunters Portsmouth to The Valley on Tuesday evening, ready to again following Saturday's late postponement of the fixture.

The weekend's clash was rained off following a pitch inspection an hour before kick-off and the two sides will try again on Tuesday with both sides keen for points in the race for promotion.

One point separate the two sides with Charlton sitting in seventh with 40 points, while Pompey lie in sixth on 41, but with two games in hand. Three points for the Addicks could prove important if they are to keep pace at the top.

Portsmouth come to SE7 off the back of two defeats, with Hull City and Lincoln City taking maximum points from them in the last couple of weeks.

The Addicks, meanwhile, come into the game following the 1-0 victory at Milton Keynes Dons last Tuesday evening.

Ryan Inniss remains sidelined, but Akin Famewo is close to making a return to the squad, although he may have to wait until the weekend's trip to Rochdale.

Conor Washington is likely to miss out after picking up a knock at MK Dons, but Ian Maatsen is expected to make a return having sat out of the trip to MK Dons.

New signing Matt Smith is eligible to play and is likely to be in the matchday squad, but fellow deadline arrival Diallang Jaiyesimi will ave to wait until the weekend having not been registered in time for this fixture.

For Pompey, Jack Whatmough will be missing through suspension. Goalkeeper Alex Bass is injured with a stress fracture and Lewis Ward has been drafted in on loan from Exeter City to cover.

Paul Downing is their only other injury concern.

Charlton Boss Lee Bowyer: "When you play these sides that are in and around you, a win gives you a mental boost. Every single time we've played Portsmouth, they've been tight games. We have to compete because they are a big, strong, physical team. We'll have to fight them from start to finish." 

Porstmouth boss Kenny Jackett: "They have different ways to play, I do think they can mix it up. They have good power and good football which, you need both to be successful, they are a very capable group. We know that when we get our game right, we can beat anybody as well, we have proved that with games away at Lincoln, away at Hull, away at Ipswich once in the league and once in the cup, once at Sunderland."

Saturday's game marks the 108th instalment of the fixture with Portsmouth being Charlton's most played opponent in their history. The Addicks have won on 37 occasions and losing 43 times, with the other 27 games finishing in draws.

Charlton came out on top in the reverse fixture in October with Jonny Williams and Chuks Aneke netting in a 2-0 win.

The last meeting at The Valley ended in victory for the Addicks in March 2019 - Joe Aribo and Lyle Taylor both scoring in a 2-1 win.

Lee Swabey will take charge of Tuesday's game at The Valley. He has refereed 19 games, so far, this season, producing 46 yellow cards, but is yet to dish out a red.

Swabey last visited The Valley for the EFL Trophy tie with Brighton U21s in September - a 1-1 draw which resulted in a 4-1 win on penalties for the Addicks.

He will be assisted by Christopher Wade and Paul Lister, with Daniel Cook acting as the Fourth Official.

The match will be played behind closed doors and supporters are reminded to maintain social distancing guidelines and to stay away from the stadium when the match is taking place.

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



Charlton’s live matchday streaming service has received a major overhaul with the introduction of Valley Pass Live, a new multi-camera show hosted by Scott Minto. He will be joined by guest pundits Alan Curbishley and John Robinson for the broadcast which begins at 6.15pm.

Supporters will be able to watch Charlton league games this season on Valley Pass Live. All league games, except those selected for UK or international broadcast, will be available to purchase with a match pass which costs £10 in the UK and Ireland and internationally.

Supporters living abroad can purchase a season live video pass for £195, which will give them access to every game the club is allowed to stream internationally during the 2020/21 season.

Supporters who are yet to purchase a pass for Tuesday's game can do so here.

Meanwhile, live audio commentary of the game will be available to Valley Pass subscribers in all countries as usual.

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