Leyton Orientvs.Cheltenham

The Robins currently find themselves two points adrift of safety with games in hand on the sides around them, while the hosts will set out to cement a top-half finish following back-to-back defeats.

Match preview

Leyton Orient return to action on Saturday aiming to arrest a difficult run in what has been an impressive campaign on their return to England's third tier.

After winning promotion from League Two last time around, Richie Wellens's side currently sit 10th, having earned 58 points from their 41 games thus far, winning 16 of those along the way.

Indeed, the Os now only find themselves out of the playoff picture due to a dip in form since the beginning of March, having managed just four more points in the last six attempts with the only triumph in that time coming away at Stevenage thanks to Max Sanders's goal.

Wellens's men then travelled to sixth-placed Lincoln City and suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat, before most recently facing another tough test at home to promotion-chasing Peterborough United on Monday and again leaving empty-handed from a close encounter, eventually losing 2-1 at Brisbane Road after Ethan Galbraith halved the deficit around the hour mark.

Having now dropped to 10th spot in England's third tier, with a seven-point lead over Wycombe Wanderers and a nine-point gap up to the top six with just five games left to play, Leyton Orient will set out to solidify their creditable standing and bounce back to winning ways on Saturday.

They meet a visiting side with much more on the line in the final run-in, as they bid to escape the drop zone in what has been a challenging campaign.

In October, Darrell Clarke took over a Cheltenham Town side who looked all but down and out with just a single point on the board from 10 games having failed to score, but they have remained competitive since, moving within touching distance of safety by earning 37 points from his first 29 league games at the helm while winning 10 of those.

The Robins do head into the weekend in the midst of a tough run, though, having only picked up one victory from their last eight attempts since mid-February, having narrowly prevailed in a 2-1 triumph away at basement side Fleetwood Town last Friday thanks to goals from Liam Sercombe and Aidan Keena.

Seeming to build on that result in an Easter double-header, Clarke's men then played host to Exeter City on Monday, but they came away empty-handed, falling to a 2-1 defeat despite going ahead early in the second half through Ben Williams as Luke Harris quickly levelled the scores before Reece Cole netted an injury-time winner from the penalty spot for the visitors.

While they do remain two points adrift of safety as a result of their disappointing run, Cheltenham Town find themselves with a game in hand on 21st-placed Port Vale and two in hand on 20th-placed Burton Albion, and with 21 points left to fight for, they will set out to give their survival hopes a huge boost with an away win at the weekend.

Leyton Orient League One form:

L

L

D

W

L

L

Cheltenham Town League One form:

D

L

L

D

W

L

Team News

Following their back-to-back defeats over the Easter weekend, Richie Wellens may make several alterations to his Leyton Orient starting XI on Saturday, with Ruel Sotiriou, Dan Agyei and Joe Pigott vying to come into the attack from the outset after settling for substitute appearances on Monday.

Sotiriou leads his side's scoring charts with 11 goals so far this term and could replace Daniel Adu-Adjei up front in their 4-2-3-1 shape, while Shaq Forde will continue on the right wing having hit nine of his own.

If key midfielder Idris El Mizouni, who missed their meeting with Peterborough on Monday, remains sidelined, Jordan Brown and Ethan Galbraith will continue in the engine room, while Omar Beckles and Brandon Cooper should again partner up in the middle of the defence.

Cheltenham Town's veteran defender Curtis Davies came off at half time in their recent meeting with Exeter City, but he should be fit to feature at the weekend and will likely line up in a back three with Lewis Freestone and Andrew Smith.

They will, however, likely remain without key attacker Matt Taylor, who has netted four goals in eight league appearances for the club since arriving in the January transfer window, having missed his side's last four games through injury, while Rob Street is also confined to the treatment room.

Given those absences up top, Joe Nuttall should again partner Aidan Keena, while top scorer Liam Sercombe, who has scored nine goals so far this term, will offer further attacking support from the midfield.

Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:

Brynn; James, Beckles, Cooper, Sweeney; Brown, Galbraith; Forde, Moncur, Agyei; Sotiriou

Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:

Southwood; Smith, Davies, Freestone; Long, Kinsella, Pett, Ferry; Sercombe; Keena, Nuttall

We say: Leyton Orient 1-2 Cheltenham Town

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