Marcus Braddock previews tonight's Play-Off first-leg
Tonight sees Shrewsbury Town go into possibly the most important pair of games of in the clubs history. Our opponents finished the season with 71 points and although they ended the regular season with a defeat, their last ten games have seen a mini revival, seemingly inspired by new manager Lee Bowyer. The ex-Leeds United midfielder has won six and lost three since taking over in March. One of those wins was against us a few short weeks ago and other notable scalps include Blackburn and Rotherham at home but the Latics lost their high pressure game at home to Scunthorpe so their revival hasn't been completely immaculate.
Top Scorers
Josh Magennis 10
Tarique Fosu-Henry 9
Ricky Holmes 6
Ricky Holmes 7
Jake Forster-Caskey 7
Mahamadou-Naby Sarr 3
Tarique Fosu-Henry 3
Clean Sheets
Eight at home and six away. Last clean sheet: Charlton 1-0 Blackburn-April 28th.
Stats
Charlton have scored an average of 1.35goals per game, just under the League one average of 1.38.
The Latics best period in home games is the last fifteen minutes with 9 goals scored this season.
However, Charlton have conceded ten in the last fifteen minutes of games too so it could be an interesting end to the game.
The most frequent score at the Valley this season has been a 1-0 home win which has occurred five times. The next most common result is a 1-1 home draw which has happened three times.
Charlton are the 10th best team at home in League One with 39 points from 23 games.
Referee
Simon Hooper from Wiltshire. Games this season: 41. Yellow Cards: 127. Red Cards: 6.
Assistants
Akil Howson and Nick Hopton
Fourth Official
Andy Davies
Squad News
Charlton are hoping winger Tarique Fosu-Henry will be fit after a strained hamstring. Defender Lewis Page is unlikely to be fit in time.
Paul Hurst has a full squad to pick from with the exception of Abu Ogogo and Junior Brown.
Summary
Looking at social media, it's clear that Charlton are very much up for a noisy encounter with plenty of home support after their flurry into the play-off places. But we have the second best defence in the league so we're more than capable of getting something positive from this game. An away win would be just what we want but Charlton will have other ideas and will put us under pressure from the off.