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Charlton Athletic Factfile:

Ground: The Valley
Formed: 1905
Nickname:  The Addicks
Manager:  Chris Powell
League Finish 2009/10: 4th
Kit Colours: red shirt, white shorts, red socks (home), light blue shirt, dark blue shorts and socks (away)

Previous Meetings:
 

In a game that may well be remembered for Dale Jennings' electrifying debut, Tranmere Rovers fought back to come from behind a draw 1-1 against Charlton when these two sides last met in September.

It only took the visitors six minutes to take the lead in the fixture, as on-loan goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi gifted a goal to Charlton, dropping a tame free-kick right at the feet of Scott Wagstaff who bundled the ball home.

Jennings came on to make his debut shortly before half time, replacing Sam Morrow ,who had picked up a hamstring injury, and the whole team were lifted by the young strikers presence.

It didn't take long for the debutant long to get involved, either, as shortly after half-time, Tranmere equalised, as despite Jennings seeing his brilliant diving header from Cresswell's corner saved, striker Enoch Showunmi popped up to net his fourth of the season from the re-bound.

Jennings continued to light up the Tranmere crowd for the rest of the game, seeing one rasping 35-yard drive brilliantly saved by the 'keeper, but neither he nor any other player on the pitch was able to add any further goals, with the game ending 0-0.

Vital Stats: 

In thirteen previous trips to Charlton, Tranmere have won just twice, drawing on six occasions and losing five times

In these thirteen games, Tranmere have scored thirteen goals to Charlton's nineteen

Rovers haven't won any of their last eight games against the Addicks, a run dating back over fourteen years

Twelve of the last fourteen goals Tranmere have conceded have been in the second half of matches

These two sides have never played before in March

On This Day:

2005: Tranmere's automatic promotion hopes are dealt a huge blow, as despite taking an early lead thanks to a Ryan Taylor goal, Brian Little's side lose 3-1 at home to rivals Hull

2002: Simon Haworth scores the only goal as Tranmere beat Bristol City 1-0 at Prenton Park

1995: A 1-0 win over Sunderland keeps Tranmere top of Division One by eight points, an advantage they would later let slip as they ultimately failed in the play-offs

Tranmere Rovers have played seventeen previous games on this day, picking up seven wins, three draws and seven defeats.  In these seventeen games, they have scored 21 goals and conceded on 27 occasions.

Rovers have won all of their last three away games on this day and are in fact unbeaten in five fixtures away from the Wirral on March 5th, whilst they have kept four clean sheets in their last six matches on this day.

The Form Book:

Charlton Athletic last six home games:  LLWWWL
Tranmere Rovers last six away games:  DLLWDL

Charlton Athletic may be one of the strongest sides in League One, but they come into this game having lost four successive games, including their last two matches at the Valley.

They are, indeed, a mixed bag at home of late, having won three and lost three of their last six matches, with five of these games having been played under new manager Chris Powell after his appointment on January 14th 2011.

The club started their six match sequence with a defeat, losing 4-2 against struggling Swindon Town, before, in Powell's first game in charge, goals from Scott Wagstaff and Nathan Ecclestone helped Charlton to a 2-0 win over Plymouth.

Bradley Wright-Phillips then scored his first goal for the club following his transfer from Plymouth in a 1-0 success over Colchester before, in their next home game, Charlton made it three successive home wins with a 3-2 win over Peterborough.

However, since then, the club have lost successive home games, starting with a 2-1 defeat to Hartlepool United before, in their most recent home game, the Addicks lost 3-1 at home to Exeter City.

Other notable results at the Valley for Charlton this season include successes over Yeovil Town (3-2), Sheffield Wednesday (1-0) and Bournemouth (1-0).

The Addicks have so far played sixteen games at The Valley this season, picking up 27 of an available 48 points, this thanks to eight wins, three draws and five defeats.

Impressive results away from home for the London club this season include wins over Leyton Orient (3-1), Carlisle United (4-3) and Swindon Town (3-0).

Charlton come into this fixture in eighth place in the League One table, having picked up 47 of an available 96 points from 31 game, this thanks to thirteen wins, eight draws and ten defeats.

With successive defeats at the start and end of their six match sequence, there are few positives to take for Tranmere going into this game results wise, especially as they have also lost their last three matches.

Tranmere started their six match sequence with a defeat as they retained only 26% of the possession as they were defeated 2-0 by MK Dons after a dismal display before a penalty save from Tony Warner helped Tranmere to a 0-0 draw at the County Ground against Swindon.

Other impressive results away from home for Tranmere this season include wins over Bristol Rovers (1-0) and Walsall (4-1) and another win over Walsall, this time 1-0 in the League Cup.

Les Parry's side have played 16 away league games this season and picked up 16 of an available 48 points, this thanks to four wins, four draws and eight defeats.

Notable results at Prenton Park for Tranmere this season include victories over Southampton (2-0), MK Dons (4-2), Sheffield Wednesday (3-0) and Peterborough United (1-0).

Les Parry's side currently lie in 18th place in League One, having picked up 38 of an available 96 points from 322 games, thanks to ten wins, eight draws and thirteen defeats.

Double Hit:

 Due to the clubs spending very few seasons playing the same standard of football, very few players have represented both clubs during their careers.
 
One such player includes current Rotherham manager Ronnie Moore, who had spells with Tranmere as both a manager and a player, whilst the defender turned attacker also had a spell at Charlton Athletic as a player.

Starting his career as a centre-back at Tranmere Rovers, Moore was soon converted to a striker by manager John King and became a fan favourite as he scored 72 goals in 249 league games for the club.

In 1979, after an eight year spell at Prenton Park, which included a loan trip to America where he played for Chicago Sting, Moore moved to Cardiff and then Rotherham, before signing for Charlton in 1983.

He remained with the Addicks for two years and was reasonably successful, netting thirteen times in 62 games, before leaving the club in 1985, returning to Tranmere via Rochdale.

Moore finished his playing career at Prenton Park, where he moved into coaching and was assistant manager to John King during Tranmere's most successful spell as a club, when they rose from the depths of Division Four to within touching distance of the Premier League.

Moore left Tranmere in 1996 after the club appointed John Aldridge as manager ahead of him.  After spells as a manager with Southport, Rotherham and Oldham, he returned to Tranmere in 2006 and got them to within touching distance of the play-offs in 2009 before being sacked and returning to Rotherham for his second spell last season, managing the club to an unfortunate play-off final defeat to Dagenham and Redbridge.

One To Watch:  Gary Doherty

One of the key players for Charlton Athletic in this npower League One fixture will be experienced former Norwich and Spurs defender Gary Doherty.

The Repulic of Ireland born man, who has won 30 caps and scored four goals for his country, joined the club in the summer on a free transfer after being released by Norwich City.

Since joining the club, he has started all six league games, proving to be an important player in the heart of Charlton's defence, especially in the absense of club captain Christian Daily.

Doherty, who can also play as a centre-forward came through the ranks at Luton Town and made 84 appearances for the club, scoring 15 times, before joining Tottenham in 2000 for £1,000,000.

A four year spell at White Hart Lane saw ginger haired Doherty make just 78 appearances as he struggled to become a first team regular for the Premier League side, and in 2004 he joined Norwich City, where he would remain for six years and become an important player for the club.

Over his time at Carrow Road, Doherty oversaw two relegations and was made club captain, with his final act as a Norwich player being to help them to the League One title in the 2009/10 season.

Around League One:

There is a full round of twelve League One fixtures this Saturday, all kicking off at 3pm:

Bournemouth vs. Oldham
Brighton vs. Carlisle
Bristol Rovers vs. Dagenham and Redbridge
Charlton vs. Tranmere
Colchester vs. Southampton
Hartlepool vs. Brentford
Leyton Orient vs. Notts County
Peterborough vs. Exeter
Rochdale vs. MK Dons
Sheffield Wednesday vs. Plymouth
Swindon vs. Walsall
Yeovil vs. Huddersfield

Team News:

Tranmere played a 4-4-2 formation on Tuesday against Exeter, with both Aaron Cresswell and Zoumana Bakayogo shaking off injuries to start the game.  The two left-sided players are expected to feature once against for Rovers, with Les Parry likely to name an unchanged starting eleven.

This will mean that Andy Robinson will start once again for the Super Whites, whilst Adam McGurk will once again be on the bench after netting once for the reserves on Wednesday (a game in which Lucas Akins scored a hatrick).

The only change that Les Parry may make to his Tranmere side is a return for midfielder Joss Labadie, who has been sorely missed in the last two games after sitting out a two match ban, but he will be without injured trio Alan Mahon (hamstring), Marlon Broomes (knee) and Ryan Fraughan (knee) once again.