Blues will be aiming to extend their winning run to four games when Shrewsbury Town visit Essex.
Shrewsbury enter this match on a high after reaching the fourth round of the Capital One Cup with a 1-0 victory at home to Sky Bet Championship heavyweights Norwich in midweek.
The Shrews, however, are outsiders at 19/10 to win at Southend, who have been made 11/8 favourites by Sky Bet. The draw is available at 2/1.
Shrewsbury’s last three away games have resulted in defeats to nil so they will have something to prove at Roots Hall. Southend have won three games on the spin and a stat to take note of is that the Shrimpers have scored first in all five of their previous contests.
Blues’ Jack Payne is in a rich vein of form and he’s 18/1 to score first on Academy Day at Roots Hall.
Midfielder Kevan Hurst scored against York City last time out for Southend and he’s priced at 7/2 to score anytime against Shrewsbury, whilst former Shrews loanee David Worrall is 14/1 to score first.
Top tip: Southend to score first at 10/11
Sky Bet are the title Sponsor of The Football League. This season, a £250,000 Sky Bet Transfer Fund will go to a Football League club to spend on players in the January 2015 transfer window.
Fans who bet with Sky Bet generate Transfer Fund Tokens and go into a random draw to win a £5,000 prize – and the £250,000 Sky Bet Transfer Fund for their Football League club.
To sign up, click here and follow the instructions.