For very different reasons, both Charlton and Queens Park Rangers will be desperate for a win on Saturday.

The Hoops have lost their last two games and have picked up just fourteen points from their previous ten matches. This patchy form has seen Harry Redknapp’s team slip to fourth in the table, eleven points behind leaders Leicester.

Scoring has been Rangers’ problem and shorn of leading scorers Charlie Austin and Matt Phillips, they have struggled even more. Rangers are at the crossroads and Redknapp will view the trip to The Valley as the ideal opportunity to kick-start a strong end to the season.

Charlton are entrenched in the bottom three, albeit with games in hand over all of their rivals. The cup run and state of the Valley pitch means the games will come thick and fast for the Addicks for the remainder of the season.

A week ago, Richard Murray was upbeat about the club bringing two or three senior players in before the QPR game but, thus far, none have materialised.

Leon Best was snatched away by Sheffield Wednesday, while Shaun Wright-Phillips will no doubt be a topic of conversation for Redknapp and Chris Powell on Saturday.

Tony Pulis has said he will assess the situation regarding loaning Jonny Williams out after Palace’s cup tie with Everton. Charlton are one of a trio of Championship clubs chasing Norwich’s Argentinian striker,Luciano Becchio.

The new regime at The Valley are finding out how difficult it is to get deals over the line.

Discussions over Powell’s contract are an unwelcome distraction at this critical time. All the manager’s energies should be focused on preparing his team for the battles ahead.

It is a results driven industry, harvest a good return of points and contracts will take care of themselves. The time to sort the details out is at the end of the season.

The Addicks are going to have to show much improved form to preserve their Championship status and tomorrow could be a pivotal day. Millwall travel to Barnsley, while Yeovil entertain Doncaster, so at least two of the bottom six are guaranteed to pick up points.

Charlton are two points ahead of bottom club Yeovil and just one in front of Barnsley. The wrong set of results on Saturdaycould see the Addicks tumble to the bottom of the table.

There are still eighteen games to go, ample time for Powell’s team to ensure their safety, but to do so, the manager will need to change his philosophy.

Charlton have won just five league games all season, only one by more than a single goal, have not won back-to-back games, have scored more than two goals in a game just once and have a chronic inability to keep clean sheets.

Powell likes to keep things tight and grind out results but for his theory to work, the team need to keep a high percentage of shut-outs at the back.

The manager now needs to show a bit of adventure and play a more expansive game to preserve his club’s status. Three weeks ago in a must win game, his tactics at the Keepmoat were all wrong.

He sent out a team designed to eke out a draw in a game that was not only a must win but a should win fixture. The 3-0 win would have given Doncaster a massive confidence boost and had the opposite effect on Powell’s side.

“He who dares wins” as a famous fictional Peckham resident once said, but is Powell brave enough to dare?

Rangers will not only be without Austin and Phillips, but midfield dynamo, Joey Barton, as well. The feisty midfielder is suspended after picking up a red card against Reading at Loftus Road on Sunday.

Powell will have to assess his squad with Monday’s match at Hillsborough at the back of his mind.

Ben Hamer played the full 90 minutes in an Under-21 game at Ipswich during the week and will probably play in one of the next two games, with Yohann Thuram-Ulien playing in the other.

Lawrie Wilson and Loic Nego will probably share the right-back duties over the two games and the three central defenders, Michael Morrison, Richard Wood and Dorian Dervite will all feature. Rhoys Wiggins could be available after damaging a hamstring at Wigan, with Morgan Fox and Cedric Evina also in contention.

In midfield, Powell will have to decide whether to play the diamond shape he has recently favoured or revert to a more orthodox four or five man unit.

Reza Ghoochannejhad is expected to be available and will vie with Marvin Sordell, Simon Church and Piotr Parzyszek for a striking berth.

The Addicks could line-up like this:

Thuram-Ulien; Wilson, Morrison, Wood, Wiggins; Poyet, Cousins, Jackson, Ajdarevic; Sordell, Ghoochannejdad.

Subs: Hamer, Fox, Dervite, Green, Hughes, Church, Parzyszek.

The referee will be Eddie Ilderton from Tyne and Wear.

Redknapp’s squad is laden with class performers who have under achieved somewhat this season. Now could be a very good time to play them and the result may well hinge on how bold Powell is with his strategy.