Two sides currently sitting in the bottom half of the Championship table meet on Sunday when Charlton Athletic host Fulham in a London derby.

After both sides suffered defeat in their most recent outing, the pressure is on as the Cottagers make the trip to The Valley.

Charlton

Very few managers are under quite as much pressure as Guy Luzon ahead of his side's 10th league game of the season, and he will be fully aware that another disappointing result will have his critics talking more loudly than ever.

It was a disastrous September for the Addicks as they picked up just one point and conceded 12 goals in five games in all competitions.

For Luzon, the challenge will be proving to his players that a response is just around the corner, but the struggle to produce a good performance over 90 minutes has been a step too far for Charlton in recent weeks.

"I can only blame myself and my team. It's our responsibility to perform better. We are working hard to show our quality because we know it's not enough at the moment," Luzon told the club's website this week as the pressure from supporters continued to grow.

Charlton could have been entering the London derby with a very different mood in the camp had they held on after Karlan Ahearne-Grant's goal last weekend, but they were unable to stop Cardiff from fighting back in a 2-1 loss in the Welsh capital.

It was a third successive league loss and another disappointing run in October will add to the view that a relegation battle is more realistic than achieving success further up the table.

Recent form: WLDLLL
Recent form (all competitions): LDLLLL

Fulham

Consistency must surely be the buzzword in the Fulham camp after a run of games which displayed the best and worst of the squad under the guidance of the frustrated Kit Symons, who will feel that his side must be competing further up the table.

It was a memorable night at Craven Cottage last Friday as Fulham produced an impressive display to thrash Queens Park Rangers 4-0, but the good mood surrounding the club was gone just a few days later when they slipped to a 3-0 loss against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Much like last season, it was a case of one step forward and one back for Fulham in September as they moved to a record of three wins, two draws and four defeats from their first nine league games of the season.

As the joint-highest scorers in the Championship, delivering in the final third does not appear to be a problem for the Cottagers, who carry a threat in attack and midfield with the likes of Moussa Dembele and Ross McCormack leading by example for a side lacking in defensive resiliency.

One clean sheet is further proof of the issue for Symons, who will be identifying the trip to The Valley as the ideal chance to collect three points before the squad are split for another international break.

Recent form: DWWLWL
Recent form (all competitions): WWLLWL

Team News

Alou Diarra is available for Charlton again after serving his suspension and the Frenchman could be drafted into the defence as the Addicks prepare for the attacking threat posed by the visitors.

However, Luzon is still without Stephen Henderson, Cristian Ceballos, Johnnie Jackson, Igor Vetokele, Simon Makienok and Reza Ghoochannejhad due to their respective injury problems.

Ahearne-Grant's reward for a bright second-half display against Cardiff could be a spot in the Charlton side from the start.

Tom Cairney misses out for the visitors as he begins a three-game suspension for the red card he received against Wolves.

Fulham have received a boost in defence this week as Jazz Richards and Luke Garbutt are both fit enough to earn places in the squad.

Charlton possible starting lineup:
Pope, Solly, Diarra, Sarr, Fox, Kennedy, Kashi, Cousins, Gudmundsson, Ahearne-Grant, Watt

Fulham possible starting lineup:
Lonergan, Richards, Stearman, Ream, Husband, Christensen, Tunnicliffe, O'Hara, Pringle, McCormack, Dembele

Head To Head

It has been over 10 years since Charlton recorded victory over Fulham, with Jerome Thomas and Talal El Karkouri the scorers in a 2-1 triumph when the two sides were in the Premier League in December 2004.

Fulham have won four of the eight meetings between the two sides since that result, but they have only been victorious once in their last nine visits to The Valley.

Video Preview

Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:

We say: Charlton 1-3 Fulham

It is always difficult to predict what Fulham will turn up this season, and creativity could be an issue without the influential Cairney in midfield. However, Charlton's form suggests that they could find it difficult to halt the visiting attack and Fulham should have enough to collect all three points.