Sheffield United v Charlton Preview

Posted on | January 24, 2009 | No Comments

This all-Championship clash should have Sheffield United’s name written all over it really, with the Blades facing a Charlton side who are in dire straits. United have just started to get their season back on track and sit in the play off positions, whereas Charlton are in a real mess with relegation a definite possibility.

After a brief dip in form a month or so ago, Sheffield United’s season is finally getting back on track and the Blades are now up to 4^th in the Championship. They’ve won their last four games which although against lower opposition, is still a great return. Many people were unsure on how they would cope after top scorer James Beattie’s unexpected departure but since his move to Stoke, Kevin Blackwell’s men have won both of their games. They comprehensively beat League One side Leyton Orient in the last round and with Charlton really struggling at the moment, they’ll feel confident of netting their fifth consecutive victory. It’s only a few weeks since this exact same fixture was played in the league and with United winning that one 3-1, you can only imagine that it’ll be a similar score line on Saturday as well.

As for Charlton, things really couldn’t be any worse for them at the moment. The Addicks are in abysmal form and are currently rooted to the bottom of the Championship with just nineteen points. That leaves them seven points adrift of safety but with their last league win coming all the way back at the start of October, there are real problems at the Valley. They managed to beat Norwich in the last round of the event but other than that, the Addicks faithful have had nothing to cheer about. They crumbled against Sheffield Wednesday in their last game and you can only assume that they’re on course for another defeat in this clash as well.

As for team news, Sheffield United have a few problems and won’t be able to play Jamie Ward and Leigh Bromby who are both Cup-tied. Elsewhere, Ugo Ehiogu and Gary Speed are out for the foreseeable future, meaning that Kevin Blackwell has a fair few problems heading into this one. It’s not great news for Charlton either though and Phil Parkinson will be without Graeme Murty, Tom Soares and Matthew Spring who are all Cup-tied. However, Charlton will have Deon Burton and Darren Ambrose back after the duo recovered from injuries.

In terms of a prediction, we can only go for a Sheffield United win. Charlton have had a dismal season and with United bang in form, we think they could win by a good margin. The Addicks won’t play as badly as last week, but the Blades will comfortably win in 3-0 fashion.

Related posts:

1. Premiership Charlton v Sheffield United
2. Charlton v Sheffield United Preview
3. Manchester United vs Charlton preview
4. Premiership Blackburn v Charlton
5. Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday Preview

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