Bury vs Southend United
Chris Powell and Ryan Lowe face off in the battle of the unbeaten managers later this evening as Powell’s Southend United take on Lowe’s Bury at Gigg Lane.
Blues boss Powell goes into tonight off the back of three successive wins while Lowe is unbeaten in his opening four games since taking over the league’s basement club.
As a result, both sides go into this evening’s encounter full of confidence with Southend having brushed aside the league leaders Wigan while Bury notched a last-minute equaliser at Bradford.
Despite Blues ending Wigan’s 16-game unbeaten run, Powell will not be taking the Shakers lightly as the Southend boss eyes a place in the top half of the table and a fourth straight win.
Bury: DWDWLL
Southend United: WWWLLL
21st October 2017: Southend United (Leonard) 1 vs 0 Bury
30th April 2017: Southend United (McLaughlin) 1 vs 0 Bury
12th November 2016: Bury (Vaughan) 1 vs 4 (Ranger 2, Cox, McLaughlin) Southend United
Blues have no fresh injury concerns after Saturday’s win over Wigan. Although both Michael Turner and Marc-Antoine Fortune required stitches after the game, neither missed training yesterday.
Josh Wright is back in training following a hamstring strain but he’s is unlikely to feature while Sam Mantom, who’s yet to feature for Blues since joining on loan from Scunthorpe, will also miss out.
John White remains out due to an ankle problem and he’ll be on the sidelines along with Anthony Wordsworth, Rob Kiernan and Ted Smith.
Bury will assess the fitness of defender Nathan Cameron ahead of tonight’s clash with club concerned he may not be able to play twice in four days after a long-standing knee injury.
If Cameron is unavailable, then former Blues defender Adam Thompson may be drafted in to face his former club. Craig Jones, Jermaine Beckford and Eoghan O’Connell are all out through injury.
Chris Powell, Southend United Manager:
“We’ve got to understand that Bury have picked up recently. They’ve got a decent squad and have players that know this level.
“It’s a harder game [than Wigan] in my eyes for my players because the expectation now of everyone is it’s a game that we should win, but it’s not like that. Bury have done well of late and got a morale-boosting equaliser on Saturday at Bradford.
“We’re under no illusions here. We’ve got a long way to travel and we’re playing against a side that are really fighting for their lives.”
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