Thatcher on brink of return

The full-back has been sidelined since February 24 with a knee problem, but is rated at "80-90%" to be fit for the trip to Eastlands.

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A positive result for Charlton would see the south-east London club move out of the relegation zone for the first time since mid-September with Sheffield United and Wigan, who are fourth and fifth bottom, playing their respective matches the following day.

It is a remarkable turnaround in fortunes following Pardew's arrival as the Addicks' third head coach of the season on Christmas Eve.

One of his first moves was to secure the services of Thatcher, 31, in a £500,000 deal.

Although the former Wales defender has been forced to watch from the sidelines as Charlton secured a draw and successive wins from their last three matches, Pardew is in no doubt of his role within the squad.

"Ben will not need any more stimulation than to go back to his old club and play well. That is the sort of environment Ben likes," said the Charlton manager.

"One of the advantages I had when I entered this club was the opening of the transfer window. It was an opportunity I had missed at West Ham because you can change the face of a club by signing one player.

"I am not saying Ben Thatcher has done that - but he has certainly added to the club and helped us make the changes we needed to make.

"We needed a more positive approach and he signed because he thought we were going to stay up, so that sent the right message.

"Ben is a strong character and a no-nonsense type of player - they are exactly the attributes you need if you are going to be safe from relegation.

"In the last two games, missing him has made a difference to us."

Should Thatcher be passed fit, then Pardew could have something of a selection dilemma in defence.

Hermann Hreidarsson has been filling in admirably at left-back, but is more comfortable in the centre.

With Souleymane Diawara now showing settled form, Moroccan Talal El Karkouri is most likely to make way, although Algeria international Madjid Bougherra - signed by Pardew from Sheffield Wednesday for £2.5million - is fit again and may come into contention.

Despite their recent upturn in form, Pardew knows his men will have to perform much better against City than they did when scraping a 1-0 win over Wigan at The Valley on Saturday.

He said: "We will be addressing those issues where we were falling down.

"It was not a confidence thing - we never gave ourselves a chance to play well because we never retained the ball or won it back in certain situations.

"We were not correctly positioned and it is those things that will get us more of the ball."

The Charlton boss added: "We now have the opportunity to win three straight games and we have not done that for a long, long time."