Southend United travel to Eastleigh on Wednesday looking to bounce back from a disappointing home defeat. The National League fixture at Silverlake Stadium kicks off at 18:45 UTC as the Shrimpers aim to close a six-point gap to leaders Boreham Wood.
Southend sit second in the table with 20 points from 10 games, a position built on strong recent form. Their last five matches have yielded three wins, a draw, and the 4-2 loss to Barrow last Saturday. That result at Roots Hall was a setback, with Ronan Colclough and Lamine Chambers-Parillon scoring late consolations.
Before that, the team showed its attacking power with a 6-1 demolition of Gateshead, where Harry Cardwell and Shaun Austin were among the scorers. Cardwell's hat-trick in that game took his season tally to eight goals, making him the league's joint-top scorer. The team's defensive record, however, has been a concern, having kept only one clean sheet in their last seven outings across all competitions.
Eastleigh, currently 13th, have had inconsistent results. They were beaten 4-1 by Harrogate Town in their last outing but had secured a 1-0 home win over Carlisle the week before. The Spitfires' lineup from that Harrogate defeat included Joe Jeffries in goal and a forward line of Hisham Ghandour and Matt Dickov. Manager Lee Bradbury has confirmed that defender Tom Broadbent is a doubt for the match due to a minor hamstring strain picked up in training.
Southend's last starting eleven saw Jack Sims in goal behind a defence including Vontae Daley-Campbell and Ben Goodliffe. The midfield featured Ollie Coker and Danny Oldaker, with Paul Omochere leading the line. The full squad available for the trip is listed on our squad page. Midfielder Jack Bridge is expected to return to the matchday squad after missing the Barrow game through illness.
Eastleigh have won only one of their last five home league games, while Southend have the second-best away record in the division, having taken 10 points from a possible 15 on their travels this season.
