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Goals on the cards as Charlton and West Brom to share the spoils

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Andrew French talks us through the betting as promotion-chasers Charlton and West Brom clash in front of the Sky cameras

When Sky selected this game and moved it to Good Friday, I'm sure they were anticipating a fixture that might well decide who wins the division, never mind who goes up.

Yet amid a Championship season where anyone who gets a hint of glory seems intent on immediately opening things up for the other challengers, we have two teams who are stuttering towards a situation where a place in the play-offs may be as good as it gets.

Charlton now sit outside the top six while West Brom still have the games in hand to move back to the top - but they'd surely rather have the points on the board as they try to balance their promotion ambitions with a possible FA Cup Final appearance. Their 4-1 home drubbing at the hands of lowly Leicester at the weekend, albeit with 10 men for nearly two-thirds of the game, could be a sign of distraction.

Almost three years ago to the day, the two clubs met at The Valley in a Premiership fixture, which Albion won 4-1 as they set off on a series of results that were to famously keep them in the top flight.

Three short years later, and two teams who were doubtless among many punters' lists of 'probable' promotion contenders have slid into the 'possible' category.

Charlton's recent form has been particularly alarming. Three successive defeats have all but ended any lingering hopes of automatic promotion, but the problems have been there for longer. They have won just four of their 14 league games in 2008, and their home form has simply not been good enough: eight wins from 19 and none at all in their last three fixtures at The Valley.

Goals are a particular concern. Charlton have scored just two in their last four and yet Alan Pardew has, what is for the Championship, an awesome array of striking talent at his disposal. It's their recent goalscoring form that is the problem - Leroy Lita has not found the net in three games since joining on loan from Reading, while Andy Gray (0 in 11 appearances), Chris Iwelumo (1 in 19) and Luke Varney (2 in 13) have contributed just three goals between them in the last couple of months.

Hitting the net has, in contrast, been Albion's particular strength. With 73 goals in 37 league games this season, they are comfortably the Championship's top scorers.

Away from home, they have only failed to find the net twice in 22 matches in all competitions this season. Kevin Phillips, Roman Bednar and Ishmael Miller have scored 51 between them.

So, you'd have to fancy West Brom to score: backing no Charlton clean sheet at [1.36] is a good place to start.

The Baggies also have a good recent record at The Valley, that aforementioned 4-1 drubbing of the Addicks contributing to a three-game unbeaten sequence for them in SE7.

However, three of the last four meetings between the clubs - including two FA Cup ties earlier this season - have ended drawn. And at the risk of getting splinters from putting myself firmly on the fence, that is how I think this game will end. The stalemate can be backed at [3.5], with Charlton priced at [2.64] for victory and Albion [2.9].

As I said earlier, it's almost inevitable that West Brom will score, so backing West Brom/Draw at [15.0] and Charlton/Draw at [18] covers both eventualities.

Pardew is running out of games to get Charlton winning, and with the strikers he has there's no way he's going to adopt a cautious approach. Therefore, I'll be backing Over 3.5 goals at [3.85].

Allied to that, both teams have seen the opening goal in three of their last five games scored inside the first 30 minutes. Therefore, I'll be backing the first goal to arrive between 11-20 minutes (at [4.6]) and 21-30 minutes (at [5.6]).