An eye on Burnley

Bolton-fan Gareth Freeman gives his view of our chances on Saturday...

Finally a bit of something to cheer about at the Valley, that win over Palace ended a dismal run but the Addicks are still well in it.  With that in mind I’ve had a bit of a look at the next opponents to see if I can pin-point the danger men and their weaknesses.

Owen Coyle’s men might have caught the headlines this season with their cup runs and the near defeat of Spurs (which would have been hilarious if it had come off) but their league form of late has been less then impressive.  They have in fact lost their last five Championship fixtures in a row, including losses to Doncaster, Watford and Barnsley. 

Not the sort of form that is going to get Burnley in the play-offs and it does seem as if their confidence has been knocked somewhat.  They have a couple of players in their ranks who are pretty decent though, Chris Eagles and Robbie Blake are names that stick out straight away on their team sheet.  Joey Gudjonsson and Stephen Caldwell are also decent players on their day but Burnley don’t have the strongest squad and, especially at the moment, are a very beatable side.

Trying to find weaknesses in the Burnley side is a bit tricky at the moment, purely because they have so many! They’re shipping goals and not scoring.  The defeat against Watford, who are in no great shape themselves, was a bit of a whitewash and Burnley offered little in way of resistance.

It won’t be easy and I don’t know if I’ll include this game on my football betting slip but this trip to Turf Moor offers a decent chance for Charlton to pick up just their second away win of the season.  The win over Palace will hopefully spur the Addicks on to a bit of a run and mount a challenge for survival.  After I started writing on this blog I’ve made it my business to watch as much action as I can of the Championship and especially the Addicks.  The game against Forest in particular was disappointing, after hammering them for so long without scoring, Nathan Tyson and Rob ‘pretty boy’ Earnshaw pop up and kill you off.  It is amazing how much one win can change things around (Doncaster anyone?) and hopefully I’ll be able to start including Charlton in my football betting picks.  I’m going to leave it for this next round of fixtures though, for the up-coming Saturday I’m going to go for Reading and Swansea away and Ipswich and Derby at home. 

Up the Addicks!

Gareth