Football Bet of the Day: Oldham can secure promotion

Oldham and Southend head to Wembley for the National League play-off final on Sunday (15:00, live on DAZN), with 50,000 fans expected to be in attendance at the national stadium.

It's to the capital we go for the Football Bet of the Day, siding with one of the hopefuls to secure promotion within normal time.

A place in League Two is up for grabs and it’s a contest between two sides that have enjoyed previous long spells in the Football League.

Indeed, Oldham were one of the founding members of the Premier League back in the 1992-93 campaign, but the Latics now find themselves battling to escape the fifth tier of English football.

It has been a period of strife for both of these clubs, but there is a chance to end the season on a high by clinching promotion back to the Football League at Wembley.

It’s a remarkable feat that two teams battling for promotion from the fifth tier of English football will attract a crowd of 50,000 fans on Sunday.

Oldham and Southend will have to keep their cool in front of a bumper support and it’s the Latics who look best placed to seal promotion.

Micky Mellon’s men impressed on their way to Wembley with two convincing play-off performances.

Oldham kicked off with a 4-0 quarter-final hammering of Halifax and the Latics were good value for that success.

The Blues won the shot count 13-1, corner count 7-2 and bossed the ball against the Shaymen, while it was a similar story when they beat a highly-fancied York 3-0 in the play-off semi-finals.

Mellon’s men won the shot count 12-4 against York and they didn’t allow the Minstermen a single effort on goal at the York Community Stadium.

Those are two impressive performances and something near that level should see Oldham past Southend in the play-off final.

The Shrimpers only secured a top-seven position by a point and the efforts of Kevin Maher’s men following the closing game of the regular season haven’t convinced.

The Essex boys needed extra-time, following a ding-dong battle, to get the better of play-off quarter-final opponents Rochdale, eventually edging a thriller 4-3, before they then beat Forest Green on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the semi-finals.

Maher’s men have to be given credit for those efforts, given Southend were vastly inferior to their play-off opponents in the regular season, but the Shrimpers may be sunk by Oldham.

The Latics are a defensively solid and structured side and that should serve Mellon’s men well against a Southend outfit who have shipped five goals in their two play-off matches.

At the prices, Oldham look a bet to secure promotion back to the Football League by winning in 90 minutes at Wembley on Sunday.