One of the strikers Charlton were linked with in the summer was Gillingham’s out-of-contract front man, Tom Eaves.

The 27-year-old Liverpudlian scored his fair share of goals for the Gills but he is more of a target man. Eaves spoke to Charlton but eventually joined Hull.

The Tigers have two classy wingers who put plenty of crosses into the box for Eaves to get on the end of.

Defending the second ball will be vital on Friday evening. The Addicks’ less than watertight defence will be bolstered by the return of Tom. Lockyer. 

But the back line will have to be on their mettle if they are to end their nine match winless run.

Eaves has only netted twice in his 19 appearances for Hull but he causes mayhem in the area.

Charlton were foiled in their bid to sign Eaves by internal politics as Bowyer explained:

“We were interested in him but weren’t allowed to bring him in. We spoke with him, but we weren’t allowed.

“Their front three are good, their two wingers (Grosicki and Bowen) are the biggest threats and they’ve got big Eaves doing well. 

“Okay, he doesn’t score many goals but he does a lot for the team. They get around him – he’s a big target man who causes problems.

“They’ve got players who can hurt you and are established Championship players.”

Bowyer will be hoping his game plan to nullify the visitors’ attacking threat is successful.