Charlton Athletic v Sunderland
Sky Bet League One
The Valley
Kick-Off: 3pm - Saturday 3rd October, 2020
Match Coverage
TV/Stream: Full live match coverage available via www.safc.com
Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Newcastle (not online)
Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time whistle at www.RokerReport.com!
Sunderland take on Lee Bowyer’s Charlton Athletic for the first time since we suffered heartbreak at Wembley in May 2019, and we may have just caught them at a decent time.
The takeover of the club by Danish-American businessman Thomas Sandgaard last week fired life back into the club after a chaotic summer, which left the manager’s hands tied when it came to rebuilding the squad.
Now it seems Lee Bowyer is like a kid in a sweet shop, as he looks to add vital quality to the squad as quickly as possible.
Despite the trouble in the boardroom, the Addicks are aiming to bounce straight back to the Championship at the first attempt, and after losing two of the opening three games will see a game at home to a promotion favourite as an ideal opportunity to begin climbing the table.
Phil Parkinson however will be aiming to continue Sunderland’s good start to the season and remain unbeaten as we head into an international break. Nothing is decided at this stage as was said before the Peterborough clash last week, but it’s another huge game for both clubs this week.
Sunderland Team News
Phil Parkinson has one or two decisions to make again this weekend with Chris Maguire being declared as close midweek, but it would be surprising if he was rushed back considering the wealth of options the manager has at his disposal in that area of the pitch.
George Dobson has his third and final game of his suspension so misses out again so expect Grant Leadbitter to keep his place in midfield alongside Max Power, who returns after injury.
Up top, we will have to wait and see until after Phil Parkinson has spun his magic wheel of strikers and see who it lands on before announcing his final XI. My guess is that he will revert to what we saw at Oxford United and Aiden O’Brien will try and support Danny Graham, but on the evidence of the first three games it’s a toss of a coin.
Possible XI: Lee Burge, Tom Flanagan, Bailey Wright, Jordan Willis, Luke O’Nien, Grant Leadbitter, Max Power (c), Denver Hume, Josh Scowen, Aiden O’Brien, Danny Graham
Charlton Athletic Team News
Defeats to Doncaster Rovers and Lincoln City have gone some way to dampen the mood at the Valley after an opening day League One away win at Crewe Alexandra, but this week has seen a boost of a takeover and a couple of faces.
21-year-old defender Akin Famewo has signed on a season-long loan deal from Norwich City and Marcus Maddison has joined as a free agent in the few days after the takeover was confirmed.
It’s likely to be too soon for Marcus Maddison however, without a pre-season behind him it’s unlikely the 27-year-old ex-Peterborough United midfielder will feature against Sunderland this weekend. Akin Famewo will expect to come straight into the side, after Charlton have lost twelve players since the end of last season, including defenders Tom Lockyer and Naby Sarr.
Possible XI: Amos, Purrington, Famewo, Oshilaja, Barker, Levitt, Pratley, Oztumer, Washington, Bonne, Doughty
Last Time We Met... at The Valley
Saturday 5th January 2019: Sky Bet League One
Charlton Athletic 1 - 1 Sunderland (O’Nien, James (OG))
Sunderland: McLaughlin, O’Nien, Flanagan, Baldwin, James, Gooch (Watmore), McGeouch, Power, McGeady, Wyke, Maja (Maguire) Substitutes not used: Ruiter, Ozturk, Mumba, Sinclair [Sunderland only named six substitutes - the named seventh, Bryan Oviedo, did not travel]
Charlton Athletic: Phillips, Dijksteel, Solly, Bielik, Bauer, Sarr, Morgan (Williams), Fosu, Taylor, Grant, Pratley Substitutes not used: Maynard-Brewer, Stevenson, Marshall, Kackett-Fairchild, Ajose, Clarke
Match Betting
The bookmakers fancy Phil Parkinson’s side this weekend as they offer 11/10 for an away victory and 13/5 for Charlton to win their first game since the opening day of the League One campaign.
Maybe unsurprisingly the favourite scoreline is a 1-0 win for Sunderland at 11/2, closely followed by a goalless draw at 7/1 and a goal to nil victory for Charlton at 8/1.
When it comes to the question of who is scoring the goals at the Valley, Danny Graham is favourite at 6/4 anytime scorer and 4/1 to be the first goalscorer, and if you fancy a repeat of a Leadbitter penalty he is 12/1 to be first goalscorer.
For the home side, Macauley Bonne and Conor Washington are the dangermen according to the bookies and are 5/1 to be first goalscorer.
Match Prediction
I have an odd feeling about this weekend that I haven’t had for a long time, I think it’s called confidence.
We can probably guarantee it’s going to be another slog to watch, but I’m going for another clean sheet and probably another goal from a set-piece...
Charlton Athletic 0 - 1 Sunderland