Southend vs Tranmere Predictions

• Southend have scored two or more goals in four of their last five league matches.
• Tranmere have scored two or more in just two of their 11 away matches this season.
• Tranmere are League 1’s fourth-lowest scorers away from home this term.

Shrimpers harder to beat

Southend’s struggles continue, as does their rapid run towards relegation, though minor improvements have occurred of late. Defensively, Sol Campbell’s men are still very poor; they’re conceding lots of goals while the level of resistance that they’re generally offering is minimal. On a more positive note, they have started to score on a much regular basis, which has allowed them to avoid defeat more regularly. The Shrimpers have lost only two of their last six, which is a vast improvement on what went before.

Conceding goals is clearly part and parcel of what this Southend side does. They’re without a clean sheet in 15 League 1 matches. They’ve shipped two or more in ten of those 15. They’ve also conceded two or more in each of their last six at Roots Hall, conceding three or more in four of those six and four or more in those four. However, given that they’re going up against a similarly loose Tranmere defensive, the Shrimpers may fancy themselves to get a much-needed win on Saturday, especially since they’ve been scoring plenty of late, notching four in their last two at home and nine in their last five overall.

Rovers out of form

Along with their hosts, Tranmere occupy a position inside the relegation zone. They too are finding in extremely difficult to keep teams out having shipped nine goals in their last three matches.

Where Tranmere and Southend have differed of late has been in the final third. While Southend have started to score plenty of goals, Saturday’s visitors continue to be a bit laboured in the final third. They have found the net in each of their last four, but they’ve only score more than once in one of their last eight.

What’s more, Rovers have found it tough to get their attacking strength to outweigh their defensive weaknesses on the road this term, scoring just nine and conceding a rather disappointing 25. Tranmere have also failed to score in a rather 45% of their away games in the third division this season.

Opportunity for the hosts

Southend are heading for League 2, there can be no denying that, but they’re certainly showing some fight. Frankly, if they’re looking for a better opportunity to treat the Roots Hall crowd to a win, then it’s not going to come. The recent goal-scoring exploits of the hosts bode well ahead of a match against a Tranmere side that has struggled massively on the road. While Southend are unbeaten in their last two at home, scoring four goals in the process and posting an encouraging 28 shots, ten of which hit the target, Tranmere have lost each of their last three on the road and have looked relatively weak in doing so.