MATCH PREVIEW | Charlton v Gillingham

Charlton welcome Gillingham to SE7 on Saturday with the Addicks looking to build on last weekend's victory at Rochdale.

The 2-0 win last Saturday was Lee Bowyer's men's third win in four away games, but a turnaround in home fortune will be vital if they are to sustain a promotion push in the second half of the season.

Charlton have gone five games without tasting victory at The Valley, but will be buoyed by an impressive performance at Spotland last time out, with Bowyer feeling as if his side have "turned a corner".

The Gills, meanwhile, arrive off the back of a 3-0 defeat to Lincoln City last Friday. Steve Evans' side find themselves in 16th position in League One with 10 wins, four draws and 12 defeats from their 26 games, so far.

Ryan Inniss remains sidelined, while Jake Forster-Caskey may not be risked. The midfielder had a scan on a hamstring complaint this week which came back clear, but Bowyer revealed he will not be taking any risks if he is deemed not to be 100 percent.

Jason Pearce's fitness will also be assessed after feeling a tight groin during the week. Meanwhile, Bowyer will also judge Akin Famewo's sharpness after he played 62 minutes for the U23s on Tuesday.

For Gillingham, Dominic Samuel is sidelined, with Christian Maghoma also a doubt. Henry Woods is also injured for the Gills.

Charlton Boss Lee Bowyer: "Gillingham play in a certain way so we’ll have to fight and compete. It might not be pretty at times. But when we win that ball, we have to do the right things. We’ll also have to defend our box well. They will pepper the box with long balls and throws.

Gillingham boss Steve Evans: "Going to The Valley is going to be tough, but it is a game that every one of our players and staff should look forward to.

"We know we need to start winning and there is no bigger test than going to The Valley. We will be ready on Saturday."

Charlton and Gillingham have met on 35 previous occasions with the Addicks winning 16 and the Gills coming out on top six times, while the remaining 13 games ended in draws.

The reverse fixture back in November saw the sides play out a 1-1 draw. After Conor Washington missed a first-half penalty, Jordan Graham netted a 73rd-minute penalty for the hosts, but Chuks Aneke rescued a point for the visitors in the 82nd minute.

The Addicks ran out 2-0 winners the last time we met at The Valley in December 2018, with Ben Reeves and Tariqe Fosu getting on the scoresheet.

Kevin Johnson will be the man in the middle on Saturday. He has taken charge of 18 games this term, producing 47 yellow cards and three reds.

His last experience of refereeing an Addicks fixture came in February 2019 for a goalless draw with Blackpool in SE7.

Johnson will be assisted by Louis Marks and Andy Bennett with Leigh Crowhurst 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.

The February edition of Valley Review is now available to purchase online. The magazine covers all three of the Addicks' home fixtures in January and features an interview with Liam Millar. Click here to purchase.



Supporters can buy Valley Gold Jackpot Tickets online for the fixture. For every £1 spent on a Jackpot ticket, half goes to the club's academy to help produce the stars of the future on the pitch. The other half goes to the two winners of a cash prize.

Click here for your chance to win up to £2,000.

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 Robert Lee for the broadcast which begins at 2.15pm.

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 Saturday'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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