English League Two
2012-09-29 - Plymouth vs Southend United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English League Two
Saturday 29 September 2012 - Kick Off 3pm
Plymouth
Plymouth will be facing one of their former managers on Saturday as Paul Sturrock comes to town with his Southend United team and they do seem to be looking forward to the game. It wasn't that long ago that Plymouth were in the Championship, but financial problems have stunted the club now.
It is very likely that Plymouth will be looking down the table for much of this season, but they have made a decent start to this season. The side are 16th in the League Two table with 9 points to their name and a win on Saturday could send them into the top half. They are 1-1-2 at Home Park this season, scoring 5 goals and conceding 8.
There was plenty of character on show last time out as Plymouth recovered from a 2-0 deficit to beat Morecambe 2-3 away from home. Plymouth have been a mixed bag at home in all competitions this season and they will be coming into this game after a 1-1 draw against Bristol Rovers in their last game at Home Park.
Southend United
Southend United recorded another win last weekend as they start moving up the League Two table. The team have made a solid start to the new season as they look to earn a promotion to League One this season.
The win last week means Southend are now up to 8th in the League Two table and their 13 point tally means they are only 3 points off those in the automatic promotion positions. However, Southend will want to improve their away record where they are 1-1-2 this season, scoring 6 goals and conceding 7.
Southend have actually won 5 of their last 6 games in all competitions with the only exception being a 1-0 loss at local rivals Gillingham who are topping the League Two table with 22 points from a possible 24. As I mentioned above, the away performances have not really been good enough for Southend who have now won just 1 of their last 6 away in all competitions.
Head to Head
Plymouth and Southend United drew 2-2 here last season, although Southend won their home game 2-0.
Plymouth actually recovered from 0-2 down to earn that point last season and have extended their run to 5 unbeaten at Home Park against Southend.
Prediction
I am a little surprised the layers have decided that this game warrants a 2.10 quote for over 2.5 goals to be scored.
Southend may not have scored in their last away game at Gillingham, but they had scored 3 away goals in consecutive games at Northampton Town and Cheltenham Town before that so they should cause problems for a Plymouth team that has 1 clean sheet in 6 home games in all competitions.
On the other hand, Southend haven't had a clean sheet in any of their last 6 away games in all competitions and Plymouth have scored in 10 of their last 12 home games.
The fixture has also produced goals when they have met at Home Park and 6 of the last 7 here between them has ended with at least 3 goals being shared.
I believe both sides are going to score in this game and I wouldn't be surprised to see a winner so the over 2.5 goals looks a decent shout.
The Pick :
Plymouth 2-2 Southend United
