A look ahead to the FA Cup tie on Saturday between the Blues and Chester.
The Lowdown
Currently sitting in mid-table in the Vanarama Premier Division, Chester have won two out of their three last games but come to Roots Hall on the back of a narrow 3-2 defeat at Eastleigh.
A 5-0 defeat on the opening day of the season at home to Barnet got the Blues off to a disappointing start, which was made even worse, when three days later the club suffered another defeat, this time at Forest Green Rovers.
However, Chester got their first win on their last visit to Essex as they beat Braintree, winning 3-1. Since then, the Cheshire outift have managed to keep their heads above water and have won six of their last ten games, picking up good victories against local rivals Wrexham, Southport, Telford, Aldershot Town and Stockport County.
The Officials
Referee: Graham Horwood
Assistant Referees: Paul Kelly and John O'Brien
Fourth Official: Declan Ford
The Inside View
Phil Brown: “They disposed of Stockport County quite comfortably in the last round. We know what they’re about though. We had them watched against Eastleigh on Saturday.
Steve Burr: “It's great to get a league club and it was quite exciting sitting and watching the draw being made.”
The Previous Five Meetings
January 1999 – Chester 1-1 Southend United
November 1999 – Chester 0-0 Southend United
March 2000 – Southend United 3-1 Chester
December 2004 – Southend United 1-0 Chester
March 2005 – Chester 2-2 Southend United
The Overall Record
Southend United wins: 14
Draws: 14
Chester wins: 10
The Tickets
Click here for ticket information ahead of Saturday’s game.
The Game
Keep up-to-date with the game on Twitter and Facebook. Follow @SUFCRootsHall for full updates on Twitter, while there’ll be key moment updates on our Facebook page: SouthendUnitedFC.
The Commentary
Listen to exclusive commentary of Saturday’s game on Blues Player with BBC Essex. To sign up, or listen, click here.
COME ON YOU BLUES!
