Eastleigh are on the road once again to face promotion rivals Southend United at the Roots Hall Stadium in the 26th matchday of the Vanarama National League on Saturday 28th January with a 3pm kick-off. Preview in association with Unibet.
Southend United:
Southend United seem to have steadied the ship in recent weeks following a run of five league matches without a victory. Since then, the Shrimpers have won two of their last two matches, first defeating Solihull Moors 3-0 in the National League, before overcoming a fast start from Darlington to win 2-1 and progress into the fifth round of the FA Trophy.
Despite the recent upturn in form, Southend United currently sit 18th in the competition’s form table, a run which has seen the Shrimpers lose a lot of ground on the pack of teams chasing the runaway leaders Wrexham and Notts County. Instead, Southend United now sit in eighth position in the league, outside of the play-off positions by just one point.
Unlike their opposition this weekend, the Shrimpers have been inconsistent at home, winning just two of their last five in the League at Roots Hall, and just six of their 13 matches at home in this National League campaign so far.
Callum Powell is Southend United’s top scorer this season with seven goals in total including one in the reverse fixture earlier this season, however, the forward has not scored since the Shrimpers’ 2-2 draw with Notts County in November.
More recently it has been Harry Cardwell that has been carrying the goal-scoring burden for the club and the striker has scored three goals in the last two matches including a brace against Darlington a fortnight ago.
Eastleigh:
The Spitfires return to league action after three weeks away due to fixture postponements and FA Trophy commitments. Eastleigh bounced back from a loss last time out in the league against Wealdstone by defeating Braintree Town 1-0 and progressing into the fifth round of the FA Trophy thanks to a stunning goal from the club’s top scorer this season Danny Whitehall.
After a brief spell in the play-off positions, results have since seen the Spitfires fall to 11th position in the league, however, Eastleigh remain just four points adrift of the top seven and trail this weekend’s opponents Southend United by three points.
Eastleigh are boosted by the return of loanee JJ McKiernan to the club, who after a brilliant first spell at the club, has rejoined for a second spell lasting until the end of the season.
Meanwhile, fellow loanee, Alfie Lloyd, has also committed to the club for the rest of the season. Lloyd has scored four of the Spitfires’ last six league goals and will be looking to score in his fourth consecutive league match to close the gap to Whitehall at the top of the scoring charts having now scored seven in the competition.
Fixture History:
This will only be the fourth-ever meeting between the two clubs after the Shrimpers fell out of the Football League two seasons ago.
In the three previous meetings, there has been one of each outcome, with Southend United going unbeaten against the Spitfires last season, firstly defeating Eastleigh 1-0 at home before a stalemate at the Silverlake Stadium.
However, in August, the Spitfires recorded their first win over the Shrimpers in dramatic fashion, falling behind before flipping the game on its head in the final 15 minutes thanks to a brace from Whitehall. His first was an outstanding effort from his own half and the second of which came via a 96th-minute free-kick.
Head-to-head (All previous meetings):
27/08/22: Eastleigh 2-1 Southend United
22/02/22: Eastleigh 1-1 Southend United
05/10/21: Southend United 1-0 Eastleigh
By Sajidur Rahman
