MATCH PREVIEW | Gillingham v Charlton

The Addicks make a return to league action on Saturday lunchtime as they make the short trip to the Priestfield Stadium to take on Gillingham (1pm).

Lee Bowyer's men will be going in search of a seventh straight League One victory and currently sit fourth in the table, just three points off top spot with two games in hand on leaders Peterborough United following a useful set of results elsewhere during the international break.

Gillingham, meanwhile, got themselves back to winning ways in their last league outing against Crewe Alexandra, but that came off the back of a torrid run of five straight defeats. They currently sit 16th in the table.

Jason Pearce and Deji Oshilaja could be involved in the matchday squad after the defensive duo both gained signifiant minutes in a training ground friendly with Luton Town on Monday. Alex Gilbey has also made a return to training and will be eyeing up a return sooner rather than later.

Akin Famewo remains sidelined as does Alfie Doughty, while Jonny Williams has returned from international duty with a slight groin strain which could potentially rule him out.

For Gillingham Jacob Mellis is out for the remainder of the season, as is Stuart O'Keefe.

Charlton Boss Lee Bowyer: “It is a tough place to go. The one thing his [Steve Evans] players do is give him 100% and I’ve seen that in the games I’ve watched. It is definitely going to be a tough game, my players will have to be ready physically, then we have to do what I like them to do, so it will be an interesting game.”

Gillingham Boss Steve Evans: "“Lee Bowyer has put a wonderful squad together. From that point of view we remain humble. We will have 17-18 players trying to compete with what is another club who were recently in the Premier League. We will do our best to make sure we try and keep the three points at Priestfield."

Saturday's meeting will be the 35th between the two sides. The Addicks have the upper hand in terms of previous encounters, winning 16 while Gills have won six - the other 12 matches have ended in draws.

The last fixture resulted in a 2-0 victory at Priestfield for Charlton as they continued their promotion charge in April 2019. First-half goals from Joe Aribo and Josh Cullen were enough to secure the points.

Robert Lewis will be the man in the middle on Saturday afternoon. He has taken charge of nine games, so far, this season producing 20 yellow cards and one red.

His last experience of refereeing the Addicks was during a 1-0 home victory over Doncaster Rovers in October 2017.

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.


Supporters will be able to watch Charlton league games this season live on Valley Pass. 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 Saturday's game can do so here. UK-based supporters who purchase a stream will be entered into the Your Club, Your Car prize draw which will see one lucky fan drive away with one of the club's now-infamous Range Rovers. Click here for more details.

Meanwhile, live audio commentary of the game from Terry Smith and Greg Stubley will be available to Valley Pass subscribers in all countries as usual.

Click here for more information on how to purchase a streaming pass for Saturday's game.

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