Accrington Stanley vs Southend Predictions

• Only two teams have scored more home goals than Accrington in League 1 this term.
• Only one League 1 team has conceded more away goals than Bolton this season.
• Accrington are the fourth-best League 1 team in terms of shots on target for at home.
• Southend are League 1’s fifth worst team when it comes to shots on target conceded on the road.

Stanley out of form

Losers of each of their last two matches, Accrington have slipped up of late, which is a shame given that they had gone six games unbeaten. They were narrowly beaten by Rochdale at this venue recently, though we shouldn’t read too much into that, as they did enough to earn at least a draw. Last time out, Stanley received a thrashing from Ipswich, though better teams than Accrington have and indeed will come up short against the Tractor Boys.

Overall, at home, John Coleman’s men are a useful side. Defensively, they’re not up there with the sharpest League 1 teams, but they’re not the worst either. While they very much fit into the middle-of-the-road pack defensively, Stanley are among League 1’s best at the other end. Only two teams have notched more home goals than Accrington, who’ve scored a pleasing 24 times in 11 matches at Crown Ground. They’ve scored multiple goals in seven of those 11.

Stanley also rank highly when it comes to shots for, shots on target for and touches inside the opposition box. They’ll fancy themselves to hurt one of the worst defences in the league, that’s for sure.

Southend gradually improving

They remain winless in a whopping 16 matches, but Southend have shown signs of improvement of late. Sol Campbell’s men are now unbeaten in three matches having drawing with MK Dons, Wimbledon and Tranmere. Drawing against sides of that nature isn’t exactly something to shout about, but given where they were not so long ago, three draws against anybody signals improvement for the Shrimpers.

In the final third is where Campbell’s men have really taken it up a notch. Whereas they were struggling to get the ball in the net for some time, the Shrimpers have notched seven in their last five, scoring at least once in six of their last seven. Unfortunately, they’re still very weak at the back. They shut out Tranmere at Roots Hall on Tuesday night, but that was their first clean sheet since September. In the 15 games that separated those shutouts, Southend shipped a whopping 40 goals, conceding two or more in ten out of 14.

Home goals on the cards

As a high-scoring home team, Accrington will be chomping at the bit to face Southend’s leaky rear-guard. Punters can profit by siding with ‘Accrington to Win & Over 2.5 Goals’. The hosts are not only one of League 1’s best teams in a variety of attacking areas, but recent home wins against the likes of Burton and Portsmouth point towards them getting the better of strugglers Southend. Add in that there’s rarely a shortage of goals when Southend play, with three or more being scored in 64% of their matches, and combining a home win with ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ starts to appeal. Three or more goals have also been scored in three of Accrington’s last four at home.

‘Correct Score’ players can try a 4-1 win for the hosts, who’ve had no problem scoring multiple goals against weak sides. The visitors have conceded four goals in two of their last five on the road, as well in five of their away games overall this term, though they have scored a single goal in three of their last five and in five of their last eight. Moreover, Stanley have conceded exactly once in three of their last five at Crown Ground.