Will Charlton bring the best out of the Blues?

Wycombe Wanderers entertain Charlton Athletic on Tuesday in their 15th league game of the season.

The league table currently shows Wycombe in 20th place with 12 points and Charlton in top spot with 31 points, both sides having played 14 games.

Charlton's Away Record.....W 5 - D 1 - L 1 - Pts 16...Ppg 2.29 (Rank-1)

Wycombe's Home Record...W 1 - D 2 - L 3 - Pts 5....Ppg 0.83 (Rank-23)


Wycombe's defeat at Oldham on Saturday was disheartening, not because they have a god-given right to win every game, but because they failed to reproduce the work ethic that earned them victory at Hartlepool and therefore looked every inch the relegation certainties most neutrals believe them to be.

Manager Gary Waddock must feel like banging his head against a brick wall. It's been said so many times now, both by him and by the players themselves...if Wycombe play at a high tempo and work harder than the opposition, they stand a chance of picking up points....if they don't, they almost invariably lose. So, if the players understand this simple principle, why don't they apply it every week rather than once in a blue moon?

It's been suggested that their delicate and finely tuned footballer psyches only respond to the stimulation of a "big game" either because the opposition are a "big club" or because previous results have been so poor that fan pressure has demanded a performance.

If that's the case, a sports psychologist might be worth thinking about, but probably not until we've played our next three games against the 1st, 3rd and 4th placed teams in the division.

Yes, poised precariously above the relegation zone, a mere two points off the bottom, the Blues are about to embark on a trilogy of toughies against Charlton Athletic, Sheffield Wednesday and Notts County. Lose that lot, and they're almost certain to be propping-up the entire division by bonfire night if not before.

But you never know with this bunch. The last time they faced a couple of big names in quick succession, the Blues kept their one and only clean sheet to beat Sheffield United 1-0, and three days later almost surprised Preston North End before eventually losing 4-3.

Charlton might be a harder nut to crack. Optimists will point to a 1-0 defeat at Stevenage in their last away game as evidence that the Addicks are beatable. Pessimists will remind you that it was their first and only league defeat of the season, and the chances of them losing to a newly-promoted minnow twice in a row on their travels are slim.

In response to their setback at Boro, the league leaders thumped Carlisle 4-0 at the Valley on Saturday prompting boss Chris Powell to say: "That was our best performance of the season...we've bounced back."

It's the start of a daunting few games for Wycombe, but that will get the crowd behind them, and a couple of positive results would certainly breathe some life back into the campaign.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.


Here are some stats......


Charlton's last five games (All Competitions)

Lg1: Sheffield Utd (A)..........Won 2-0

JPT: Brentford (H)...............Lost 0-3

Lg1: Tranmere (H).............Drew 1-1

Lg1: Stevenage (A).............Lost 0-1

Lg1: Carlisle (H)................ Won 4-0



Wycombe's last five games (All Competitions)

Lg1: Rochdale (A)................Lost 1-2

JPT: Cheltenham (H)............Lost 1-3

Lg1: Walsall (H).................Drew 1-1

Lg1: Hartlepool (A)..............Won 3-1

Lg1: Oldham (A)..................Lost 0-2



Charlton Goal Stats (17 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total).........Lg: 28...Cups: 2...Total: 30

Goals Conceded (Total).....Lg: 11...Cups: 6...Total: 17

Goals Scored (Away)........Lg: 12...Cups: 0...Total: 12

Goals Conceded (Away)....Lg: 6.....Cups: 0...Total: 6

Clean Sheets....................Lg: 5.....Cups: 0...Total: 5



Wycombe Goal Stats (18 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total)..........Lg: 14...Cups: 8.....Total: 22

Goals Conceded (Total)......Lg: 22...Cups: 11...Total: 33

Goals Scored (Home).........Lg: 6.....Cups: 8.....Total: 14

Goals Conceded (Home).....Lg: 9.....Cups: 11...Total: 20

Clean Sheets.....................Lg: 1....Cups: 0.....Total: 1



Charlton's Top Goal Scorers - (All Competitions)

Brad Wright-Phillips.......8

Johnnie Jackson............5 (inc 2 pens)

Yann Kermorgant..........4

Danny Hollands.............3

Paul Hayes....................3

Dale Stephens...............2

Scott Wagstaff...............2

Three other players have each scored 1 goal.



Wycombe's Top Goal Scorers - (All Competitions)

Stuart Beavon...........7

Scott Donnelly...........5 (inc 2 pens)

Joel Grant.................2

Ben Strevens............2

Five other players have each scored 1 goal.



Charlton Shooting (Top-3) - All Competitions

B Wright-Phillips.....29 on-target...14 off-target...0 against woodwork

Paul Hayes.............11 on-target....8 off-target...1 against woodwork

Dale Stephens.........5 on-target...11 off-target...1 against woodwork



Wycombe Shooting (Top-3) - All Competitions

Scott Donnelly.........13 on-target...11 off-target...0 against woodwork

Stuart Beavon.........18 on-target.....3 off-target...0 against woodwork

Joel Grant.................8 on-target...10 off-target...0 against woodwork



Shooting (Club) - League Games Only

Charlton.........83 on target...65 off target...4 against w'work (Rank-11)

Wycombe........51 on target...70 off target...3 against w'work (Rank-22)



Most Assists

Charlton - Wright-Phillips.......6

Wycombe - Andy Sandell.......3



League Form Guide

All Season

Charlton......Pld: 14...W: 9...D: 4...L: 1...Pts: 31...Pts per game: 2.21

Wycombe....Pld: 14...W: 3...D: 3...L: 8...Pts: 12...Pts per game: 0.86



Last Five league Games

Charlton.......DWDLW - 8 points (Rank-6)

Wycombe.......LLDWL - 4 points (Rank-19)



Last Five League Games (Away)

Charlton......WWDWL - 10 points (Rank-4)



Last Five League Games (Home)

Wycombe........LLWLD - 4 points (Rank-21)



Against Top Half Opposition

Charlton.......Pld: 6...Pts: 12...Pts per game: 2.00...(Rank-3)

Wycombe.....Pld: 7...Pts: 6.....Pts per game: 0.86...(Rank-12)



Against Bottom Half Opposition

Charlton........Pld: 8...Pts: 19...Pts per game: 2.38...(Rank-3)

Wycombe......Pld: 7...Pts: 6.....Pts per game: 0.86...(Rank-24)



Previous Meetings

In 3 previous meetings there have been 2 wins for Charlton and 1 for Wycombe.

2006/07 Ccp: Charlton 0 Wycombe 1

2009/10 Lg1: Charlton 3 Wycombe 2

2009/10 Lg1: Wycombe 1 Charlton 2



The Man In The Middle

Tuesday's referee is Andy D'Urso from Essex who was promoted to the National List of Referees when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. His last Wycombe game was a 1-0 win over Bradford City at Adams Park in November 2008. So far this season he's issued 1 red and 45 yellow cards in 13 games.



Prediction

Wycombe 0 Charlton 2

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