Away specialists Southend look good for first-leg triumph
The Shrimpers have won more games on the road than any other League Two team and should be backed at football betting odds of 7/4 to build a lead over Crewe at Gresty Road.
Despite looking like an impossible feat before the final set of fixtures began, Southend United appeared set to steal the final automatic promotion spot by beating already-relegated Macclesfield Town.
With Torquay United being crushed at Hereford United and Crawley Town struggling at Accrington Stanley, Paul Sturrock’s side occupied third spot as the half-time whistles were blown across the country.
It stayed this way until the 67th minute, when a Scott Neilson strike put Crawley into a 1-0 lead and the Red Devils managed to hold on to that advantage to secure back-to-back promotions – finishing a solitary point above the Shrimpers.
Southend must now lift themselves quickly for the challenges that lie ahead, the first of which is a play-off semi-final first-leg trip to Gresty Road to face Crewe Alexandra.
| Confederation Cup - Group A | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 2-0 | Mexico | £130.00 | (11/2) |
| Brazil | 1-0 | Mexico | £145.00 | (25/4) |
| Brazil | 3-0 | Mexico | £160.00 | (7/1) |
| Brazil win | £26.60 | (33/100) | ||
| Draw | £95.00 | (15/4) | ||
| Mexico win | £185.00 | (33/4) | ||
Sturrock’s charges have been particularly impressive on their travels this season, managing to rack up 13 victories (which is more than any other side in League Two), and in doing so also scored the most goals on the road – 41 in their 23 away fixtures.
Generally speaking, when Southend find the back of the net, they love to go on and bang in a few more.
The last time Alexandra suffered a loss was at the hands of Southend back in February and that 1-0 defeat saw the Shrimpers complete the league double over their play-off rivals.
They have scored two or more goals on 14 separate occasions away from home and one of those was a 3-1 victory over Saturday’s opponents back in October. For a repeat of this scoreline, bwin are offering generous odds of 22/1.
Having promotion snatched from their grasp may have dampened Southend’s spirits for a short time, but considering how unlikely they were to gain automatic promotion prior to the final fixtures, that feeling should have passed by now.
As a result, I would expect their minds to be fully focused on completing the job through the play-off route and they look a solid bet to be playing in League One next season.
A victory over Crewe on Saturday evening will set them on their way and with bwin offering odds of 7/4 for another away-day success, I would point punters in this direction.
New customers receive a free £25 bet for registering with bwin and backing this outcome would return £68.75 if successful.
Meanwhile, in securing seventh place in the League Two table and the final play-off position, Crewe went on an incredible run of 16 matches unbeaten at the end of the campaign and will go into the two-legged affair with plenty of confidence.
The Railwaymen are priced as 7/5 favourites to turn over Southend in the first leg and with nine of the games in their recent unbeaten streak ending in a stalemate, odds of 21/10 for a draw on Saturday evening could easily tempt some punters.
The last time Alexandra suffered a loss was at the hands of Southend back in February and that 1-0 defeat saw the Shrimpers complete the league double over their play-off rivals.
Southend go into the clash on the back of three straight victories and having already tasted success in beating Crewe twice this campaign, the smart money will be on the Essex side to make it four wins in a row and a treble against the Railwaymen.
Recommended bet: Southend to beat Crewe @ 7/4
New customers can register here to claim a free £25 bet or click here to see all our League Two odds.
Follow us on Twitter @bwinbetting