Chris Hughton will take charge of Brighton & Hove Albion in the league for the first time this weekend as they face Charlton Athletic at The Valley.

The new boss got off to a promising start last Saturday as late goals from Lewis Dunk and Chris O'Grady booked their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the expense of playoff-chasing Brentford.

That made it back-to-back victories for the Seagulls after they climbed out of the bottom three with a win over Fulham in their final league match of 2014.

Even so, Hughton now faces the tricky task of dragging his side away from danger, with only goal difference keeping them out of the relegation zone as things stand.

Millwall will fancy their chances of taking maximum points off bottomclub Blackpool too, so Hughton will know that anything less than a win this weekend could see his side drop back below the dotted line.

They have only lost one of their last five away games, however, and have picked up just a point fewer on their travels than they have at the Amex this season.

Hughton is expected to have Adrian Colunga, Jake Forster-Caskey and Joe Bennett all back available for the match, although Kazenga LuaLua remains a couple of weeks away from fitness.

There will also be no Darren Bent after his short loan spell with the club ended, so O'Grady and Craig Mackail-Smith will compete to lead the line.

While Charlton sit eight places and eight points above their opponents in the league, they won't be feeling too confident against what appears to be a resurgent Brighton.

That is as much to do with their own form as that of their visitors, however, with the Addicks currently enduring a seven-match winless streak - the longest run in the league.

It stretched to eight in all competitions following their defeat to Blackburn Rovers in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday, making it three losses in their last four games in all competitions.

Worryingly for Bob Peeters, having not lost any of their first 10 home games, his side are now six without a win in front of their own fans.

Peeters will be without goalkeeper Stephen Henderson after he underwent surgery on a dislocated shoulder, with Neil Etheridge expected to fill in between the sticks.

Yoni Buyens is also unavailable due to suspension, but Tony Watt could feature having joined from Standard Liege earlier this month.

Charlton:

Form in Championship: LDDLDL
Form in all competitions: DDLDLL

Possible starting lineup: Etheridge; Solly, Bikey, Ben Haim, Fox; Gudmundsson, Wilson, Jackson, Cousins; Watt, Vetokele

Brighton:

Form in Championship: LLLDDW
Form in all competitions: LLDDWW

Possible starting lineup: Stockdale; Calderon, Hughes, Dunk, E Bennett; Forster-Caskey, J Bennett, Gardner, Teixeira, March; O'Grady

Sports Mole says: 0-1