Southend vs Charlton Predictions

It’s been an up and down start to the season for Southend, though they’ve played well for the most part. Chris Powell’s men will be hoping to secure back-to-back victories when they welcome Charlton, who were previously managed by Powell, to Roots Hall on Saturday afternoon.

Last season, Southend were blighted by terrible away form and it’s already becoming evident that playing away from home could bring about a few problems this time around, though the Shrimpers did collect maximum points on their travels last time out, despite not being anywhere near their best in the final third. That said, they looked good at the back and gave little away.

They may not have been great on their travels last season, but the Shrimpers are almost always good at their fortress of a home ground. Last time out at Roots Hall, Southend ran out comfortable winners against Bradford, a repeat of which would likely see them make reasonably light work of beating a Charlton side that appears to be simply treading water, even at this early stage.

From an offensive point of view, Southend look strong; they’re creating plenty of opportunities, especially at home, while with Tom Hopper and Simon Cox in their forward-line, they’re not short of firepower. Interestingly, only Barnsley and Peterborough have accumulated more shots on target than Southend this season, while the Shrimpers also sit in a very respectable 4^th in terms of expected goals for. Against a Charlton side that has struggled in the final third, such qualities could be telling on Saturday.

Not only have Southend looked good in the final third, but they’re defending well too. The way that they kept a very good attacking team like Bristol Rovers reasonably quiet last time out was impressive, while they’ve not given too much away, even in games when they’ve conceded.

Charlton, although they don’t appear to be that good in terms of avoiding conceding chances, have also looked reasonably useful at the back, though they’re looking very weak in the final third. Lee Bowyer’s men are finding it hard to create clear-cut chances, which is a shame because they have a very capable striker in Lyle Taylor.

When drawing 0-0 against Fleetwood in front of a home crowd last time out, the Addicks did offer a bit more, though they didn’t do quite enough. Unless they can offer more at Roots Hall, which will be anything but easy, then they’re likely to be in for another fruitless afternoon.

With the home crowd behind them, Southend, who’ve outperformed Charlton in every area this season, appear to have been ever so slightly underestimated in the betting. At the prices, it’s worth backing the attack-minded hosts to both come out on top and to score a couple of goals in doing so.