Southend United set to shine under the Friday night lights

Switching their match against Scunthorpe to a Friday night in a bid to boost the atmosphere at Roots Hall could be seen as a desperate move by Southend United, but it may also be a smart one.

The Shrimpers have won their last three home fixtures played on the last day of the working week, with convincing victories over Chesterfield (3-0), Barnet (3-0) and Cheltenham (4-0) whetting the appetite for this clash with an Iron outfit who are winless in seven in all competitions.

Southend’s season so far has gone in threes, with three straight victories at the beginning of their league campaign followed by a trio of defeats.

Now in their seventh game, Phil Brown’s side could be primed to bounce back under the Friday night floodlights in the first of six home matches they’ve brought forward a day, and are well priced at 5/4 to do so.

Outsiders Scunthorpe are likely to have few friends at 19/10, particularly following a winless run which has seen them take the lead and fail to earn victory in each of their last four league games.

That record makes the 4/1 available on Southend to come from behind to either win or draw the match a tempting proposition, whilst those who believe in the Shrimpers’ Friday night fortunes might even be drawn on the 11/1 for them to recover from a losing position to win.

However, Southend impressive form in the first halves of matches this season could make it difficult for the Iron to press ahead in the contest.

The Essex boys have scored in the first period in five of their six League Two matches this season, and are evens to do so again here, whilst they are 37/20 to win the first half.

All of which points to an entertaining Friday night at Roots Hall, with the 19/5 on offer for a Southend win with both teams scoring perhaps the ultimate way to go.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publication