Nottingham Forest vs Charlton

There are a number of eyecatching ties in the third round of the FA Cup, and one in particular which I will be watching with a good deal of interest takes place at the City Ground on Saturday when Coca-Cola League 1 champions elect lock horns with Premiership side Charlton, who to all intents and purposes look set for relegation come what May. Indeed, as things stand these two sides are poised to bump into each other in the Coca-Cola Championship next season. The Addicks are, of course, the far stronger side, but as we saw when they crashed out of the Carling Cup at the hands of League 2 outfit Wycombe, the south east London side are there for the taking at present. Recently appointed boss Alan Pardew led West Ham to the final of this competition last season against the odds and he will attempt to follow suit with Charlton. However, despite his charges showing renewed gusto in their first two fixtures under Pardew, they were absolutely hammered by Arsenal on Tuesday evening and remain a team short on confidence, ideas and options. Nottingham Forest have let themselves down with some below-par performances of late - and were also given a thumping last time out. They looked for all the world as though they would pulverize their League 1 rivals until they hit a flat-spot at the beginning of December. The Reds have now lost four of their last eight, and have slipped to third in the table, albeit just a point adrift of chart toppers Scunthorpe. But Colin Calderwood's men still look much the most likely winners of League 1 and I do not believe that there is much between them and Charlton on current form. With the benefit of home advantage, the scales are tipped in the Reds' favour for my money, especially given that the Premiership side haven't won a solitary game in 12 played on the road in all competitions so far this term. Both sides have a key player apiece - for Charlton it's Darren bent, without whose goals they'd probably have completely sunk now - even beneath whipping boys Watford - while Forest's Nathan Tyson has scored 15 times in 30 appearances since the Reds paid £675,000 to lure the 24-year-old from Wycombe. The Reading-born striker clearly has a bright future. This should be an entertaining game and I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if a flurry of goals ensued. But when push comes to shove I feel that, at 11/5 with Coral, the value for punters lies in backing Nottingham Forest in the match result market. Verdict - 1.25pts Nottingham Forest in the match result market @ 11/5 (Coral)