Charlton Athletic vs Chelsea FC

Relegation threatened Charlton will face a massive task when they host Chelsea in their Premiership fixture on Saturday. The Addicks are currently second from bottom, while the Blues are behind Manchester United at the top of the table.

Charlton’s last two results have been encouraging- a win over Portsmouth and a draw against Bolton, both away games. Alan Curbishley must be hoping that his lads can display their fighting spirit once again and trouble Jose Mourinho’s side. Talal El Karkouri, who scored the goal against Bolton will play this game, but will miss the trip to Old Trafford which follows after this game. Luke Young and Darren Bent are absentees and Majid Bougherra is a doubt with his calf injury. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink may start against his former club, given that he scored in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea will be bolstered by the return of captain John Terry, but will miss Ashley Cole after he suffered knee damage in the 3-0 win over Blackburn. That means Wayne Bridge comes in at leftback for Cole. Makalele, Lampard, Ballack and Essien will man the centre, while Drogba and Shevchenko will play upfront. Drogba has been in excellent form this season while Shevchenko hasn’t been so, but his performance against Blackburn did give the fans something to cheer about. A win here will put Chelsea reduce their gap to three points and put pressure on United ahead of their trip to White Hart Lane.

This game looks to be Chelsea’s, given that they do well in derbies. But Charlton are not the Charlton they were 2 months ago, and if they play their heart out, earning a draw might not be improbable. The obvious thing would be to go for a 1-0 or 2-0 Chelsea victory, but I’ll stick my neck out and go for a 1-1 draw. Lampard and Hasselbaink on the scoresheet.