CHARLTON ATHLETIC v SHREWSBURY TOWN
Thursday 10th May 2018 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Football – England – League One Betting Tips
The first legs of the League One play-offs commence this Thursday evening with Charlton Athletic taking on Shrewsbury Town at The Valley with both teams looking for an early advantage to take into the second leg on Saturday.
Charlton sneaked sixth place in the third tier on the weekend despite losing 1-0 away at Rochdale but The Addicks were handed the last remaining play-off berth as Plymouth Argyle also lost away from home but by a 5-2 scoreline at Gillingham which ended Plymouth’s hopes of grabbing sixth spot.
Charlton’s best hopes of getting a valuable first leg lead, and indeed of reaching the play-off final, seem to well and truly hinge upon their form at The Valley where they ended up with a 11-6-6 31/24 record, along with a strong finish to the season on home turf as they won three of their last four with decent wins over Plymouth Argyle, Rotherham United and Blackburn Rovers.
Third placed Shrewsbury Town eventually ran out of gas and couldn’t keep up the blistering pace set by the top two teams, Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers, but it was an excellent campaign from The Shrews and they deservedly grabbed a play-off spot with a few matches to spare.
It’s been a long campaign for Paul Hurst’s side though, and the stress may be starting to show for his team who have registered just two wins from their last eight league matches – a disappointing run of results which ultimately cost them automatic promotion.
The two wins during this ordinary eight match sequence were both recorded at home, but there’s reason for Shrewsbury to head into this first leg with confidence as they’ve suffered just one defeat from their last nine on the road, which includes a 2-0 win at The Valley back in February.
In addition, an away record of 11-8-4 28/22 shows their resilience, while stalemates in three of their last four with draws at Northampton Town, Bradford City and Blackpool makes me lean towards a draw here tonight.
Pick: Draw @ 3.32 Marathonbet
