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Dover Athletic
National League | Gameweek 27
Jan 29, 2022 at 3pm UK
Crabble Athletic Ground
Southend United

Dover Athletic
0 - 1
Southend


Krasniqi (45'), Goodman (53'), Judd (62')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Husin (73')
Ralph (68')

Preview: Dover Athletic vs. Southend United - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's National League clash between Dover Athletic and Southend United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Southend United will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run of form in the National League to six matches when they make the trip to Dover Athletic on Saturday afternoon.

The visitors, who played out a 1-1 draw with Aldershot Town on Tuesday evening, are currently 18th in the table, while Dover are at the foot of the division on minus five points.


Match preview

Dover were handed a 12-point deduction for the 2021-22 campaign after failing to meet fixture obligations last season, and they are currently at the foot of the table with minus five points.

There is no getting away from the fact that it has been a hugely difficult campaign for the club, who have won one, drawn four and lost 20 of their 25 National League matches, while they have the worst defensive record in the league with 58 goals conceded.

Dover managed to record their first victory in 364 days on Tuesday, though, as Alfie Pavey's goal handed them a 1-0 success over Eastleigh on a famous night for the club.

The win ended a run of eight straight defeats and followed a 5-0 defeat at Solihull Moors, so the home side will certainly be feeling good about themselves ahead of their clash with Southend.

Andy Hessenthaler's side, who suffered a 4-1 defeat in the reverse match at Roots Hall, have picked up just five points from their 12 home league matches during the 2021-22 campaign.

Southend United's Nathan Ralph in action with Exeter City's Josh Key in League Two on October 10, 2020© Reuters

Southend, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of a 1-1 draw at Aldershot on Tuesday, with Harry Cardwell's late effort securing a share of the spoils for the Blues.

Kevin Maher's side are now unbeaten in their last five league matches, recording three wins in the process, which has moved them away from the relegation zone into 18th position.

The Shrimpers are now 10 points clear of 21st-placed Weymouth and only five points from 12th-placed Woking, so they could find themselves rising further up the table with a couple more positive results.

Maher's team have won three, drawn three and lost seven of their 13 away National League matches this term, picking up five points from their last three on their travels against Bromley, Weymouth and Aldershot.

Southend were expected to challenge for promotion back to League Two following their relegation last season, but it has been a difficult campaign for the club thus far.

Dover Athletic National League form:
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • W

Southend United National League form:
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • D

Southend United form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • D



Team News

Dover boss Hessenthaler made two changes to the side that started against Solihull for the victory over Eastleigh, with Jake Goodman and Khale Da Costa coming into the XI, and both players should retain their spots for this weekend's contest.

Summer signing Ben Williamson has now left the club by mutual consent, but recent arrival Michael Gyasi was involved against Eastleigh and should also be included in the squad for this match.

As for Southend, Matt Dennis could be available after missing out against Aldershot with a hamstring issue, with Maher hopeful that the on-loan Norwich City youngster will be passed fit.

Rhys Murphy has undergone a knee operation and will be unavailable for the foreseeable future, while Jack Bridge is again likely to miss out despite featuring for the Under-23s on Tuesday, with the midfielder recovering from injury.

Aside from Dennis, Mayer could select the majority of the side that started against Aldershot, with the attacker potentially coming in for Harrison Neal, who will be unavailable for selection through suspension.

Dover Athletic possible starting lineup:
Parkes; Judd, Ransom, Goodman, Ofori-Twumasi; Wilkinson, Hanson, Woods, Arthur; Pavey, Da Costa

Southend United possible starting lineup:
Arnold; Davies, Lopata, Hobson, Ralph; Clifford, Atkinson, Husin, Dennis; Dalby, Cardwell


SM words green background

We say: Dover Athletic 1-2 Southend United

Dover will have been boosted by their win last time out, but we fancy Southend to collect all three points here. The Blues appear to have turned a corner following a difficult run, and we are expecting the visitors to secure a vital win at Dover's expense.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data



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Written by
Matt Law

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Southend United win with a probability of 56.14%. A draw had a probability of 24.5% and a win for Dover Athletic had a probability of 19.33%.

The most likely scoreline for a Southend United win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.57%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (11.15%) and 1-2 (9.48%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.54%), while for a Dover Athletic win it was 1-0 (7.03%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 13.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Southend United in this match and our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted the win for Southend United.


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Game History

How you voted: Dover Athletic vs Southend

Dover Athletic
20.0%
Draw
0.0%
Southend United
80.0%
5
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