Brighton & Hove Albion v Charlton Athletic
A real must win for both teams at the Amex for contrasting reasons.
Brighton picked up their first victory in six games on Tuesday and it was one of the shocks of the week beating league leaders Leicester 4-1 at the King Power. Brighton were the last team to beat the Foxes way back in December and ended their 21 game unbeaten run. The win came just at the right time as Reading lost at Bournemouth meaning the Seagulls are just two points behind the Royals. After beating Leicester, four of Brighton’s remaining five games are against teams in the bottom eight. These make look easy on paper, but are often harder than teams in the upper half with the sides fighting to avoid relegation and will do anything to get a result. Jesse Lingard scored his first goal for Brighton on Tuesday since joining on loan February and with confidence high will be looking to make it two in two and seize the chance to claim 6th spot with Reading playing on Monday night. He is this game’s key man.
Under Jose Riga Charlton’s form has taken one of those coincidental patterns that often crop up. Over the last seven games the Addicks have alternated between wins and losses. Therefore the superstitious amongst you will see this one as a loss for Charlton after a massive midweek win over relegation rivals Yeovil. After leading 3-1 and the game looking with twenty minutes to go Charlton looked comfortable, but a Kieffer Moore goal made the game very nervous for fans at the Valley and they held on. Still with games in hand it remains very much in Charlton’s hands and if they continue to pick up wins every over game between now and the end of the season they will just about survive and Riga can build his squad over the summer.
Previous meeting: 3-2 Charlton win
Match odds: Brighton 8/11 Draw 13/5 Charlton 15/4
Score prediction: 1-0 Brighton win
