Southend United welcome Altrincham at Roots Hall, Southend-on-Sea, Essex on Saturday, Jan 30 at 4:00 PM in a National League fixture that's tighter on paper than the positions suggest — just 2 points split them in the table.

Southend United come into this fixture in good form (3W 1D 1L recently). Altrincham, meanwhile, arrive in red-hot form (4W from last 5) — actually the better-performing side in recent weeks.

Head-to-head records offer little separation — Southend United and Altrincham have split their 10 meetings almost evenly (5W–1D–4W). Their last encounter ended in Altrincham won 1–3. These two tend to produce goals — averaging 2.6 per game in recent meetings.

Verdict: Little separates these two on form or history. Home advantage could be the deciding factor — a narrow Southend United win or a draw looks most likely.