Southend United
- Southend United are unbeaten in their last 3 home games (W2, D1).
- Southend United are in fine form at the moment, winning 3, drawing 1 and losing just 1 of their last 5 matches in all competitions.
- Southend’s success has come off the back of Kevin Maher’s ability to mix up formations mid-game and his proactive style of play, which sees the Shrimpers press the ball aggressively in 3-5-2 and 5-3-2 systems that utilise the pace of the wing-backs, and the ability of Andrew Dallas to make runs from deep or finish chances with his back to goal.
- Dallas’ movement has served the club well this campaign, with the striker scoring 13 times in 35 National League games, while Maher’s fluid system has seen United net 1.79 goals per game at home this campaign.
Braintree Town
- Braintree Town sit 22nd in the National League table (35 points after 41 games).
- Braintree Town have had a dreadful campaign so far, and they come into this match having gone winless in 5 National League matches (D2, L3).
- The Visitors have won just 3 of their 20 away games this term, and they’ve been beaten 12 times.
- While Pitt’s work has helped to grind out results recently, Braintree are simply not scoring enough goals away from home, averaging just 0.75 goals per away game.
Southend
- Andrew Dallas - the striker has 13 goals in 35 National League games this season.
- Kevin Maher - his tactical flexibility and use of wing-backs has helped United press and score 1.79 goals per game at home.
Braintree
The side’s lack of attacking output is a concern, with just 0.75 goals per away game.
Betting Insights
- While Southend United are priced at 1.2 to win this Friday night’s National League clash, we feel that’s fair enough considering that they’re unbeaten in their last 3 at Roots Hall, and that they’re facing a Braintree Town side in awful form.
- We’re backing the home side to win this one by a couple of goals, with their free-flowing attacking style set to give Braintree plenty of problems.
- Both Teams to Score - No is priced at 1.76 for Friday’s game, which is a little short considering Southend’s average home goals return, and Braintree’s lack of firepower.
- Total Score Over 2.5 coming in at 1.42 seems short considering this clash between two vastly different styles.
Prediction
The hosts should win this game, but it’s unlikely to be a goal-heavy affair.
