Relegation-threatened Doncaster Rovers will be looking to claim three crucial points when they face Charlton Athletic in their League One clash at the Keepmoat Stadium on Saturday.
Donny have lost eight of their last nine games on home soil, while the Addicks have suffered defeat in each of their last four matches on the road.
Match preview
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Doncaster extended their winless run to four matches when they played out a goalless draw away at Fleetwood Town last weekend.
Gary McSheffrey is sure to feel that his side missed the opportunity to claim maximum points against a fellow relegation candidate who had not won any of their previous 12 games.
Nevertheless, a point secured in Lancashire means that Donny remain 23rd in the League One table and four points adrift of safety with seven games remaining.
One cause for concern that McSheffrey will have is that his team have failed to score in each of their last three league games. In fact, Doncaster have now failed to find the net in 19 league matches this season – only Championship outfit Peterborough United (20) have drawn a blank in more league fixtures across the EFL this season.
Doncaster have also failed to score in their last two meetings with Charlton, losing by an aggregate score of 5-0. Defeat on Saturday would see Donny lose three consecutive games against the Addicks for the first time since a run of four games back September 2008.
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After a miserable run of six defeats and one draw between February 8 and March 12, Charlton have since claimed back-to-back home victories against Gillingham and Burton Albion without conceding.
A slender 1-0 success against the Gills was followed by a 2-0 win over the Brewers last weekend, with Conor Washington and Corey Blackett-Taylor both finding the net before half time.
Johnnie Jackson's men should now have no worries of a potential relegation scrap as they are positioned in 15th place, 13 points clear of the bottom four with a game in hand on five teams below them.
Charlton will be confident of securing their third successive league win on Saturday against a Doncaster side who they comfortably beat 4-0 in the reverse fixture six months ago.
The Addicks are also unbeaten in each of their last four visits to the Keepmoat Stadium, including victories in each of their last two.
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Team News
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McSheffrey revealed earlier this week that Doncaster striker Fejiri Okenabirhie has suffered another setback during his recovery from an Achilles injury, which has kept him out since May last year; the 26-year-old is out of contract this summer and may have played his last game for the club.
However, Donny's head coach has provided a positive update on winger Jon Taylor, who could feature before the end of this season having made progress in his recovery from an ankle problem.
Joe Dodoo and Adam Clayton, who were both unused substitutes against Fleetwood, could return to the starting lineup this weekend at the expense of Kieran Agard and Josh Martin.
As for Charlton, midfielder Jake Forster-Caskey – who has missed the entire season due to an ACL injury – got more minutes under his belt for the Under-23s in midweek, but it remains to be seen whether he is fit enough to feature for the senior side.
Top goalscorer Washington – who has four goals in four league starts against Doncaster including two in two games for the Addicks – is expected to partner Jayden Stockley in attack.
Alex Gilbey, George Dobson and Scott Fraser are all set to retain their places in centre-midfield, while centre-back Akin Famewo will be hoping to force his way back into the first XI ahead of Ben Purrington.
Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:
Mitchell; Knoyle, Williams, Olowu, Jackson; Smith, Clayton, Galbraith; Dodoo, Hiwula, Rowe
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
MacGillivray; Clare, Lavelle, Famewo; Matthews; Gilby, Dobson, Fraser, Blackett-Taylor; Stockley, Washington
We say: Doncaster Rovers 0-2 Charlton Athletic
Considering Charlton's upturn in form and Doncaster's struggle to score goals, the visitors will be the favourites to claim maximum points this weekend.
The pressure is on the hosts to pick up crucial points if they are to avoid the drop, but we can see the visitors claiming a routine win at South Yorkshire.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Charlton Athletic win with a probability of 55.02%. A draw had a probability of 24.7% and a win for Doncaster Rovers had a probability of 20.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Charlton Athletic win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.19%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.76%) and 1-2 (9.51%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.65%), while for a Doncaster Rovers win it was 1-0 (7.14%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 13.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Charlton Athletic in this match and our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted the win for Charlton Athletic.
