Oldham Athletic vs Southend United Betting Preview

It’s one of the hardest things you can do in English football – gain promotion from the National League and break into the Football League. While it may seem unfair that there are only two promotion spots and six playoff spots, you have to be consistent when it matters the most. That’s why, in one of the most unlikely playoff finals of the season, Oldham Athletic and Southend United will meet at Wembley.

Oldham are a former Premier League club and they’re a team that has been through a whole lot of hardship in recent years. From financial concerns to poor performances on the pitch, there were times when it wasn’t exactly clear as to whether or not they’d survive. Alas, off the back of some smart decisions off the pitch and great performances on it, they are on the verge of getting back to where the masses believe they truly belong.

In many ways, you can also say a lot of the same things about Southend United, but it’s perhaps even more unlikely that they’ve made their way to Wembley. They snuck into the playoff picture at the last possible moment after a really inconsistent campaign, and boy oh boy have they made the most of their opportunity. They are ready to explode back into life, and they’ve certainly got the kind of fanbase you’d want when heading to a venue like Wembley.

Regardless of what happens, the Football League will be missing out regardless of who doesn’t quite get the job done next weekend. It’s a shame to think that there are no immediate plans in place to change it to three promotion spots but for now, all we can really do is sit back and watch to see which of these two giants are able to finally give their supporters the kind of day in the sunshine they deserve.

So whether you’re looking for Virginia online casino no deposit bonus or you just want to know a bit more about the game, we’re here to break down what we think is going to happen in the 2025 National League playoff final.

Oldham are quite free scoring when they want to be so if Southend are going to stand a chance, we think they need to be disciplined in the first 10-15 minutes before really getting in the face of their opponents as the game goes on. That’ll be easier said than done, but they certainly have the quality necessary in their ranks to do it.

We feel as if Southend scraping their way in front with a somewhat fortunate goal is the likeliest possibility, forcing Oldham to really come out of their shell in the name of putting pressure on the opposition. We feel like they’ll be able to draw level and drag this game into extra time, where the fatigue is likely to set in for both sets of players.

In terms of an official prediction, we’re going to be a bit bold here and say that we’re going to get a Southend United victory on penalties.

Official prediction: Oldham Athletic 1-1 Southend United (Southend win 4-5 on penalties)