With nothing but minor league positions left to contend, Wycombe Wanderers and Charlton Athletic will do battle at Adams Park on the final day of the League One season on Saturday afternoon.
The Chairboys will be looking to preserve their impressive unbeaten streak until the very end of the campaign, whilst the Addicks will be hoping to convert their recent spell of stalemates into a maximum.
Match preview
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Approaching the conclusion of their third straight campaign at this level, Wycombe managed to extend their unbeaten run in League One to six matches on Tuesday night, when the Chairboys made the trip to Garry Monk's Cambridge United and forced a share of the spoils.
It looked for a moment that Wycombe were hurtling towards their maiden loss in the third tier since the visit of champions Portsmouth on March 29 when Gassan Ahadme put Cambridge head in the 71st minute, but the always-reliable Luke Leahy held his nerve from 12 yards to snatch a point.
The Chairboys have endured back-to-back mid-table finishes between 2022 and 2024, meaning that this term's run to the EFL Trophy final has been the main source of excitement for supporters, but Matt Bloomfield's men lost dramatically at Wembley to Peterborough United earlier this month, when Harrison Burrows bagged a match-winning brace in the final five minutes for Posh.
As has been the case for a number of seasons now, left-back Leahy is leading the club's Golden Boot race with 10 goals in 43 League One appearances, but the performances of Garath McCleary cannot be underestimated either, with the winger providing 10 goal contributions at the age of 36.
Four of Wycombe's last five matches have been played away from Adams Park, and the Chairboys will be striving to put on a good display for their home supporters, who have only witnessed eight victories in 22 third-tier matches at their base this season.
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In a remarkable upturn of form, mid-table dwellers Charlton are 14 games without defeat heading into the last fixture of the 2023-24 campaign, with the arrival of a Luton Town legend during the middle of February sparking a change in fortunes for the crisis-hit Addicks.
Taking the reins at the Valley, former Southampton boss Nathan Jones has not lost a game in charge of Charlton since his opening match at Reading in February, showcasing the tactical insight that afforded him the largely-deserved chance to manage on the South Coast in the Premier League.
That being said, the Addicks have only tasted victory in one of their last seven third-tier fixtures, sharing the spoils with Wigan Athletic, Cambridge and Shrewsbury Town since the beginning of April - a month which started with a 2-1 home success over playoff hopefuls Barnsley.
Following their relegation from the Championship in 2019-20 under Lee Bowyer, Charlton have failed to make a serious push for a return to the second tier over the past four campaigns, with the London-based club now set for a third successive term marooned in League One's middle section.
With three points left to fight for during the current season, Jones's troops are sitting in 16th place in the League One standings, eight points behind Exeter City who are rounding off the top half of the division as it stands.
Team News
With nothing tangible left to win on the final day of the campaign, Wycombe could hand starts to a pair of youngsters in the form of Richard Kone and Gideon Kodua.
That being said, there is unlikely to be any alterations in the centre-back duo for the Chairboys, with Nigel Lonwijk and Chris Forino-Joseph set to retain their spots.
Matt Butcher has been a mainstay in the Wycombe engine room since arriving from Plymouth Argyle on a permanent deal in January, and the 26-year-old should be joined by Freddie Potts in the middle once again.
After finding the net against Shrewsbury last time out, fans' favourite George Dobson will keep his place in the Charlton XI on Saturday.
The same cannot be guaranteed for Tayo Edun, who was subbed off during the interval versus the Shrews, with Kayne Ramsey potentially entering the XI at the youngster's expense.
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Ravizzoli; McCarthy, Forino-Joseph, Lonwijk, Leahy; Butcher, Potts, McCleary, Scowen, Sadlier; Vokes
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
Isted; Thomas, Hector, Gillesphey, Small; Dobson, Coventry, Edun, Anderson; May, Wickham
We say: Wycombe Wanderers 2-2 Charlton Athletic
With little pressure on either side, we are expecting an entertaining clash between two teams who will be fighting to preserve their respective unbeaten statuses.
Wycombe will relish a match at Adams Park before the campaign's end, although we feel that Charlton possess enough quality to force a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
