A trip to Surrey is on the schedule this Sunday in Charlton’s biggest game of the season.

Not only is the game against Crystal Palace a London derby, it is also the start of a run of fixtures where points are attainable. There are three league games left before the international break and it would be great to have some points on the board by then.

Palace were also promoted last season, bouncing back from relegation the previous year. The Surrey-based side have amassed six points so far by beating Everton and drawing with Villa, Birmingham and Arsenal. However, they have lost their last three in the league and that run extends to five in all competitions. Both teams will be looking to stop the rot this weekend.

Charlton will have had to lift their heads after last week's drubbing at the hands of table toppers Chelsea. The decision to drop Sophie Whitehouse and replace her with Anna Koivunen didn’t seem to work and the Finn was particularly at fault for the second goal. Nevertheless, her distribution was an upgrade and we may well see her between the sticks again.

The attack continues to be a big problem and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Karen Hills decide to abandon it wholly and try to steal a 0-0 draw. Set pieces did provide a couple of opportunities against Chelsea but the team need to get up the pitch to win them. Katie Lockwood pressed well against Birmingham and it could be worthwhile to try that experiment again.

It is impossible to ignore the enormity of this fixture. To even have a fighting chance of survival the team need to take points from those around them. What better fixture to start that with than Palace away?

Photo by Rhea Spencer-Newell