SOUTHEND UTD (0) v BURTON ALBION (1)
Sky Bet League Two play-off semi-final first leg
Venue: Roots Hall Stadium Date: Saturday 17 May Kick-off: 12:00PM Coverage: Sky Sports 1, BBC Essex, Blues Player, FANbase Website Ref: Paul Tierney
Southend will need to come from behind as they hope to beat Burton Albion to reach the final of the League Two play-offs.
Last Sunday saw the Shrimpers lose 1-0 to Burton, and will need a two-goal swing to secure the trip to Wembley/
With away goals not counting double, the match will go to extra time and penalties if the teams cannot be separated in normal time.
Blues boss Phil Brown told Southend's club website: “We were pleased with the performance but not the result last weekend, and there were definitely positives to take from the game.
“No-one has ever won a game of football at half-time, and we’re now coming into the second-half at Roots Hall, which I believe will favour us.
TEAM NEWS:
Phil Brown announced that Luke Prosser, Michael Timlin and John White are all doubts, but will be tested on Saturday morning. Julian Bennett is out.
Burton's team sees Jimmy Phillips and Damien McCrory unavailable, but Shane Cansdell-Sheriff is expected to return. Ian Sharps is suspended while Zeli Ismail and Adam McGurk may not be fit.
OPPOSITION VIEW:
Burton Albion captain Lee Bell is looking forward to facing the Blues, with the skipper confident of his side making the final: “We’re always confident. We’re going into a tough game with a slight advantage, but we have to put that to the back of our minds as we go there to win it, not to hold on.
"They [Southend] were the favourites going into the first leg, and they’re probably still favourites now. It’s up to them to come at us. It will be a tough test for us and we’re expecting a difficult game.
“We’re a confident bunch of boys, and it helps that most of us are young so they don’t think about it too much. We see it as just another game and we go to it as confident as any other” said Bell.
Burton goalkeeper Dean Lyness admitted that the squad were ready for penalties, if needed: “We’ve got to try and win the game in 90 minutes and if we don’t, we’ll see where that takes us,” said Lyness.
“If we have to go the extra mile, we will. We’ve had a little practice but I think it’s hard to capture the pressure there will be on the day.
“We do try to do a bit of research, but on the day, it only takes one person to change their mind and go the other way.
OTHER PLAY-OFF FIXTURES:
Fleetwood beat York 0-0 on Friday night (1-0 agg.) to secure a spot in the play-off final at Wembley and will face the winners of today's fixture.
Derby will face QPR in the Championship final, with Leyton Orient meeting Rotherham in the League One final.
COME ON YOU BLUES!