Southend vs MK Dons Predictions

• Southend are without a win in 13 league matches, ten of which they’ve lost.
• Southend have scored two or more in each of their last three but have won none of those three.
• In terms of points accumulated, Southend currently rank as the worst home team in the league.
• In we combine Southend’s home tally with MK Dons’ away tally, the pair have just six points between them.

Defence the problem for Shrimpers

We’re now at Christmas and Southend’s problems show no signs of going away. Sol Campbell was brought in to steady the ship at Roots Hall, but the man who did so well at Macclesfield last term hasn’t been able to do much to stop the Shrimpers descending.

Southend come into this match having won none of their last 14 League 1 matches. They have drawn two of their last five, but the odd point here and there won’t help them.

The main issue for Thursday’s hosts now seems to be a lack of defensive solidity. They were at one point struggling for goals. They’re now scoring with regularity, notching six in their last three, but they seemingly cannot stop teams at the other end. Southend have shipped nine in their last three and 14 in their last five. They’ve conceded no less than 20 in their last five at Roots Hall.

Away-day woes for Dons

Like the hosts, MK Dons look like a team heading towards League 2. They recently showed some fight when drawing away at Doncaster before narrowly beating a strong Oxford side at home, but have since reverted to struggling, losing by three goals to one away against Gillingham last time out.

The Dons come into this game with just one win in 14, while their general efforts away from home have been appalling. Thursday’s visitors have won just one out of ten on the road and have lost eight of the other nine. Like Southend, they too have big problems at the back. MK Dons have kept just one away clean sheet this term.

Opportunity for both

Given the defensive performances of both, both Southend and MK Dons will surely view this game as a massive opportunity to score goals. Keeping this in mind, ‘Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score’ stands out. First and foremost, Southend have been unable to avoid high-scoring games of late. They’ve both scored and conceded in each of their last four, while three or more goals have been scored in each of their last three. What’s more, three or more have been notched in 80% of Southend’s home games this term. Add in that the pair have kept just one clean sheet between them in their combined respective 20 home and away games and goals for both seem likely. Southend also rank as the worst League 1 team when it comes to shots on target conceded at home. They average 7.2 against. Despite doing better, MK Dons haven’t done well on the road in that respect, as they’ve surrendered an average of 5.00, which puts them well in the bottom half.