Derby County vs Charlton Athletic 31/12/19

31 December 2019

Derby County and Charlton Athletic will face off at Pride Park in the Championship bottom-half-of-the-table showdown.

The hosts are without a win in seven consecutive league matches (D3, L4) and are hovering only six points clear of the relegation zone. Curiously, while all three of their draws in the above seven-game sequence ended with the identical 1-1 scoreline, all four of their defeats in that period have seen Derby draw a blank. But, their poor form is a sharp contrast to their recent competitive home H2H record against Charlton. The Rams have won five of their last eight H2Hs held here (W5, D3), shutting Charlton out in four of those clashes. A clean sheet could be of the essence here too, as four of Derby’s five home league triumphs saw them shut out their opponents. Phillip Cocu’s main worry ahead of this encounter is a lack of goals that has seen Derby score one goal or less in five of their previous six home fixtures.

As for the visitors, they’ve managed to halt a disastrous 11-game winless streak (D4, L7), securing a 3-2 home win over Bristol City last time out. Still, Charlton’s indifferent away form could be a major influence here (W2, D4, L5), as well as the fact that they’ve shipped over 1.5 match goals in seven of their previous eight league road trips, failing to pick up a single win in that period. The Addicks’ away matches have recently produced a lot of action, with six of their previous eight trips featuring three or more goals and seeing both teams score. Conceding the opening goal could prove fatal for the traveling side that has returned just three points from six league away games that have seen them allow the opener (D3, L3).