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PREVIEW: Charlton Athletic

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Swindon Town welcome Championship favourites Charlton Athletic to the County Ground Tuesday night in the first round of the Carling Cup.

Town were eliminated early during last season’s competition losing to then League One side Brentford in the first round at the County Ground. Town fought hard but lost on penalties.

Charlton who were then in the Premier League faired fairly well last season and reached the quarter finals before suffering a shock loss to Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 at The Valley prior to Charlton’s relegation from the Premier League.

Vital Quotes:

‘Phil Smith got the nod in goal although it was a difficult decision to make. We have two fantastic keepers at the club and Brez will get his chance against Charlton Athletic on Tuesday night. Phil made two superb saves in the second half and again, he did very well for us at the end of last season.’

Swindon Town Manager Paul Sturrock

‘I’m going to have a good think about that (team selection) over the weekend, Had we won I might have changed it, but we because we haven’t, maybe it’s good to give them all another run out again on Tuesday.’

Charlton Athletic Manager Alan Pardew

Swindon Town Team News:

Swindon drew 1-1 with Northampton Town over the weekend at Sixfields however it was clear the team needs to add a prolific striker as Town rarely looked like scoring during the match. Paul Sturrock has already stated he will change the team dramatically from the one that played Saturday with Peter Brezovan confirmed in goal for Tuesday. Miguel Comminges could be handed his first start for Town after impressing as a substitute against Northampton.

Player to watch: Jerel Ifil

Jerel Ifil has been a rock in the heart of Swindon’s defence since the end of the 2005/06 League One relegation season. With Town lacking fire power up front it will be vital that Ifil holds Charlton’s big guns at bay at the back.

Charlton Athletic Team News:

Charlton are the favourites for an instant return to the Premiership. Alan Pardew has been busy lately signing several players including MK Dons hotshot Izale McLeod for an initial £1.1M and China’s national team captain Zheng Zhi from Chinese side Shandong Luneng for £1.5M. The Addicks drew 1-1 with Championship new comers Scunthorpe on Saturday.

Player to watch: Marcus Bent

Bent scored Charlton’s only goal against Scunthorpe on Saturday and the youngster will be looking to add to his goalscoring tally Tuesday night at the County Ground. Bent joined Charlton in a £2.3M deal from Everton in January 2006.

Match Facts & Stats

Historically Swindon Town have a very poor record against Charlton. Town are 12-16-24 historically against Charlton. The last time the 2 clubs met was on the 11th March 2000 where Town won 1-0 thanks to an own goal by Charlton Goalkeeper Dean Kiely on the 5th minute.

Match Prediction:

This match will prove a very stern test for Paul Sturrock’s men and we fully expect Swindon to come up on the losing side of things. Town do have a good record of playing well against good teams whilst playing fairly poor against poor sides so hopefully history repeats itself. We expect Charlton to win this match 3-1.

Next Fixtures:

Coca Cola League One – Swindon Town V Luton Town, Saturday 18th August 200, 3pm Kick off at the County Ground.

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