Southend vs Bolton Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Having looked like pushing Scunthorpe and Sheffield United for a place at the top of League One not that long ago, Bolton have tailed off a bit recently and have now failed to win two on the spin, losing somewhat unexpectedly last weekend against Swindon. On the other hand, Southend were in a similar position until beating Rochdale last weekend and are once again on a march towards the play-offs.

From a betting point of view, goals, or a lack of rather, is the way to go here. Bolton’ defensive solidity, coupled with their low-scoring nature on the road, could be the catalyst here.

When playing away from home this season, Phil Parkinson’s side have been far from the most expansive of sides, placing their focus on keeping things tight at the back – the fact that they’ve conceded just nine goals is testament to this. Considering that they aren’t in great form right now, it’s likely that the visitors will come into this fixture with the aim of frustrating the hosts and giving little away. Given how good they’ve been at the back, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they succeeded in doing so.

Admittedly Southend have done most of their good work in front of a home crowd this season, but breaking down this Bolton defence isn’t likely to be easy. After all, Bolton have managed to keep games on the low-scoring side in three quarters of their away matches this season, while Southend haven’t exactly seen a high-scoring match every week – ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ landed in 53% of their matches at Roots Hall.

However you look at this fixture, goals don’t look all that likely and, regardless of who comes out on top, they aren’t fancied to do so in high-scoring fashion.