League One Preview: Bolton travel to Charlton, Scunthorpe United visit Port Vale

The big showcase game in League One this week sees Charlton Athletic hosting a buoyant and unbeaten Bolton Wanderers side.

Trotters boss Phil Parkinson has praised his team’s mental strength after they matched their best start to a league season in 82 years.

Last weekend they came from a goal down to beat Fleetwood 2-1. That’s an impressive four wins from four.

If they can see off the potent threat of the Addicks then they will think things are shaping up very nicely indeed for the rest of the campaign.

Russell Slade’s Charlton overturned Walsall last time out and will want to continue their own rich vein of form at The Valley.

Second placed Scunthorpe United travel to Vale Park, Burslem, to take on sixth placed Port Vale. The Iron’s fantastic start aided in no small part by Josh Morris’ contribution to the cause – four goals and two assists in the opening four games, seeing him as the league’s top marksman right now.

Fourth placed Chesterfield have their own marksman boasting four goals – something of a more familiar source – as the risk and investment taken on Ched Evans continues to pay dividends.

They welcome a Millwall side yet to set the league alight. The Lions will hope that the purchase of midfielder Calum Butcher from Burton Albion will help them with their climb back up the football pyramid.

Butcher knows exactly how it’s done after helping Burton up to the Championship from League One last season, and will want to repeat that feat this season if at all possible.

Bradford City currently hold the last of the play-off spots and will fancy their chances against an Oldham Athletic side who were seen off 2-0 by Preston North End in the EFL Cup in midweek, the league is a different story though and they got the job done last weekend by grinding out a 1-0 win against Bury, so anything is possible.

Gillingham were nothing short of destroyed last weekend against the in-form Scunthorpe, but their midweek showing seeing off Premier League Watford in extra-time, suggests last weekend’s result said more about the prowess of Scunthorpe than it did the failings in their own ranks.

The Gills will want to keep things moving in the right direction at Shrewsbury.

Chesterfield striker Ched Evans has four goals in as many league outings so far this term – Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

Milton Keynes Dons host Peterborough United, but they will be without Wales striker Simon Church, who has left the club to join Dutch club Roda JC for an unspecified fee.

Having spent much of last season on loan at Aberdeen, the exit is probably not a massive shock for MK Dons fans but after the disappointments of last season’s relegation, they will be hoping for reinforcements before the end of the transfer window.

One team bring in recruits already is Bristol Rovers. The Pirates have signed Swansea City defender Connor Roberts this week on a six-month loan deal.

The 20-year-old Wales Under-21 full-back has not made an appearance for his Premier League employers, but he did make 45 starts on loan at Yeovil Town in League Two last season so will be ready to hit the ground running.

Struggling Rovers travel to Swindon for a West Country derby neither can afford to lose.

Southend United versus Fleetwood may seem like a mid-table slog, but neither would swap places with the teams involved in the remaining week’s fixtures at the wrong end of the table right now.

Sheffield United start dead last against 19th placed Oxford United. Both sides would have hoped to be challenging for honours at the other end of the table, but the stark reality is that they are in danger of being left behind and getting dragged into a season-long relegation battle.

Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United are rock-bottom in the League One standings – Photo: Mark Leech / Offside.

The two sides directly above the Blades, Rochdale and AFC Wimbledon, meet at Spotland Stadium later today. It’s too early in the season to call it a relegation six-pointer, but still it’s not a result either will want to get on the wrong end of.

There will also be a few worried fans at the Ricoh Arena as Coventry lock horns with Northampton Town. The Sky Blues lost 3-1 to Bradford in their last league match and then followed that by being trounced 6-1 by Norwich City in the EFL Cup. That’s two more goals than they managed in their previous two 0-0 draws though.

Coventry, Wimbledon and Sheffield United. Famous clubs all floundering at the foot of the third-tier of English football – surely that’s not a situation that can carry on much longer?

Unfortunately for them, the cut and thrust of League One is no respecter of reputation – you have to earn your points with hard work and determination. As they say, the league table never lies.