Oldham and Southend have managed to battle through the National League play-offs to meet in this year’s final, despite the fact that they finished fifth and seventh respectively in the league table.
Now the pair face off at Wembley with a place in the EFL at stake.
Team news
Both teams are likely to opt for similar sides to the ones that got them to Wembley, although Jack Bridge netted from the bench for Southend against Forest Green and could have played himself into the starting lineup.
The stats
Southend have been hard to beat recently, losing just two of their last 19 games and the last four National League promotion finals have all finished level after 90 minutes.
Six of the last seven games between these two have gone under 2.5 goals so this could be a scrappy affair, particularly given the stakes at play.
Two of the last three head-to-heads have finished 1-1. This pair drew a combined 33 of their 92 league games during the regular season.
Prediction
Oldham were a founding member of the Premier League back in 1992 and have fallen a long way since then. They have the chance of starting the slow climb back up the divisions as they take on Southend in this National League promotion final.
The Shrimpers have been on a journey of their own after ownership issues saw them relegated from League Two after 101 years in the Football League.
Whatever the result, both teams are richly deserving of their spot in this game and they could put on a nailbiting affair.
Southend have managed to avoid defeat in both games against Oldham this season, drawing 1-1 on their travels and winning 1-0 at home.
Both teams played their part in entertaining play-off games in the build up to this clash but now, given the occasion, it could become a cagey affair.
The fact that nine of the last 18 promotion finals have gone to extra-time cannot be ignored and both of these teams experienced their fair share of stalemates in their league campaigns.
With the pair vying for a comeback story for the ages, take a draw to further elongate the drama.