Previews ahead of fixtures involving Colchester, Southend and Braintree on Friday afternoon.
Colchester v Oldham Athletic
SKYBET LEAGUE ONE
Stadium: Weston Homes Stadium Date: Fri 18 Apr 2014 Kick-off: 15:00 Coverage: BBC Essex, BBC Manchester, FANbase website
Colchester will continue to ease away from the relegation zone when they take on Oldham Athletic.The U's are three points away from the relegation zone with teams in the bottom four keeping up the pressure on their opponents.
Colchester have only picked up one win in five games - which was against bottom side Stevenage last Saturday.
Team News:
Brian Wilson (illness) and Ryan Dickson (dead leg) will be available for the U's this weekend after missing the game against Stevenage.
Eastmond returns to the squad from suspension while David Wright misses out after coming off with a head injury last Saturday.
League Positions:
17 Oldham 41 -11 47
18 Colchester 42 -11 46
Previous Encounter:
The reverse fixture back in December saw an Oldham own goal and a Jabo Ibehre tap in send Colchester to a 2-0 win at Oldham Athletic. Previous games have seen Oldham win 13 games to Colchester's 12, while 16 draws have been played out between the sides.
Rochdale v Southend
SKYBET LEAGUE TWO
Stadium: Spotland Date: Fri 18 Apr 2014 Kick-off: 15:00 Coverage: BBC Essex, FANbase website,
Southend will look to return to winning ways, as they travel to Rochdale, to continue their push for the League Two play-offs.Promotion searching Dale are winless in their last three matches, after a defeat to Mansfield Town after draws with Fleetwood Town and York City.
Team News:
Paul Smith is still struggling with a calf problem so Luke Chambers could continue on the bench.
Phil Brown could make changes to the Blues squad after last weekend's home defeat to Wimbledon- Barry Corr and Jacob Murphy could be pushing for starts.
Previous Encounter:
The previous fixture saw Southend United draw 1-1 with Rochdale, with Kevin Hurst's goal cancelling out Dale's strike from Allen, after 12 minutes. Overall, the Blues have won 22 fixtures while Rochdale have won 12 fixtures (12 draws in total).
League Positions:
2 Rochdale 42 +22 75
6 Southend 42 +12 62
Braintree v Dartford
SKRILL PREMIER
Stadium: Amlin Stadium Date: Sat 19 Apr 2014 Kick-off: 15:00 Coverage: BBC Essex, FANbase website
Braintree will continue their search for a play-off place as they host Kent side Dartford FC.
The Iron, who drew 0-0 with Gateshead midweek, will go into the game with one win in their past four games, while their opponents have a similar record.
Dartford are threatened for relegation, and will be searching for a win over the Iron, to draw away from the relegation zone.
Previous Encounter:
The reverse fixture saw the Iron beat the Darts 2-0, with goals from Massey and Enver-Marum securing the win for the visitors. Overall, Dartford have beaten Braintree on two previous occasions, with two draws and a single win for Braintree.
League Positions:
6 Braintree 43 +17 69
22 Dartford 43 -21 44
Braintree will continue their search for a play-off place as they host Kent side Dartford FC.
The Iron, who drew 0-0 with Gateshead midweek, will go into the game with one win in their past four games, while their opponents have a similar record.
Dartford are threatened for relegation, and will be searching for a win over the Iron, to draw away from the relegation zone.
Previous Encounter:
The reverse fixture saw the Iron beat the Darts 2-0, with goals from Massey and Enver-Marum securing the win for the visitors. Overall, Dartford have beaten Braintree on two previous occasions, with two draws and a single win for Braintree.
League Positions:
6 Braintree 43 +17 69
22 Dartford 43 -21 44