Aiming to keep their hopes of a top-six finish in the League One table alive, Leyton Orient will welcome Wigan Athletic to Brisbane Road on Saturday.
The hosts now trail the playoff places by four points after a midweek defeat, while the visitors find themselves 18th following a loss of their own on Tuesday.
Match preview
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Leyton Orient head back to Brisbane Road on Saturday aiming to boost their weakening League One playoff hopes following a midweek setback.
After picking up three straight victories in February to move onto 53 points from 31 matches in sixth spot of England’s third tier, they saw their playoff bid take a major hit as a run of five straight league defeats followed, culminating in a 2-1 home loss to strugglers Northampton Town in early March.
The O’s were then able to arrest their slump and reignite their top-six hopes with consecutive victories either side of last month’s international break, though, winning 2-1 away at fellow playoff-chasers Blackpool and 1-0 at home to Stevenage last weekend thanks to a solitary Charlie Kelman goal in the 12th minute.
A trip to relegation-threatened Burton Albion then followed on Tuesday, but Richie Wellens‘s side were unable to make it three wins on the bounce instead leaving empty-handed as Charlie Webster and Rumarn Burrell condemned them to a 2-1 defeat after Dan Agyei gave the O’s an early lead.
Now sitting 10th after that latest setback, four places and four points behind sixth-placed Bolton Wanderers with just seven games remaining, Leyton Orient will be desperate to get back to winning ways on Saturday to strengthen their claim in the final run-in.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip at the weekend in search of a first victory under the management of Ryan Lowe, albeit with their boss banned from the touchline on Saturday after being sent off in midweek.
Following the departure of Shaun Maloney and a brief interim spell under Glenn Whelan, which produced a victory and a draw, Wigan Athletic turned to Lowe in mid-March, when they sat on 43 points from 35 League One outings.
The new manager is yet to oversee a victory in his first three games in the Latics hot seat, firstly seeing his side lose 2-1 away at fourth-placed Charlton Athletic before they hosted Barnsley last weekend and took a share of the spoils from a 1-1 draw thanks to Maleace Asamoah‘s 77th-minute leveller.
Local rivals Bolton Wanderers then visited the Brick Community Stadium on Tuesday and snatched all three points after the game looked set to end goalless, as Chris Forino-Joseph finally broke the deadlock for their playoff-chasing visitors in the 92nd minute, condemning the Latics to a 16th league defeat of the season and a second in three games under Lowe.
Now sitting 18th in the midst of their tough run, and with their lead over the relegation zone cut to five points, albeit with eight games remaining and at least one in hand on every other side in the bottom half, Wigan Athletic will be keen to get back to winning ways on Saturday and avoid being dragged further into the relegation dogfight in the final run-in.
Team News
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Leyton Orient will remain without Theo Archibald, Omar Beckles, Jordan Graham, Tom James and Ethan Galbraith on Saturday due to ongoing injury issues.
Charlie Kelman will continue to lead the line, with only two players in England’s third tier topping his tally of 15 league goals this season including four in the O’s’ last four outings.
Dilan Markanday and Sonny Perkins will compete for spots in support of the front man, after Diallang Jaiyesimi was preferred alongside Jamie Donley and Dan Agyei in midweek, while Jordan Brown and veteran Darren Pratley should continue their midfield partnership.
Wigan Athletic continue to deal with several injuries of their own, with Luke Chambers, Tyrese Francois, Will Goodwin, Matt Smith, Baba Adeeko, Silko Thomas and Dion Rankine all set to remain in the treatment room.
Midfielder Oliver Norburn and winger Jonny Smith were also forced off with knocks on Tuesday and may miss out, meaning Jensen Weir should return to the engine room from the outset, while Ronan Darcy will also hope to come in in an advanced role.
Maleace Asamoah should again get the nod up front alongside key man Dale Taylor, while Joseph Hungbo and Owen Dale will offer further attacking support from wing-back roles if Smith is not deemed fit to feature.
Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:
Keeley; Clare, Edmonds-Greene, Happe, Currie; Brown, Pratley; Agyei, Donley, Markanday; Kelman
Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Tickle; Carragher, Kerr, Aimson; Dale, S Smith, Weir, Hungbo; Darcy; Taylor, Asamoah
We say: Leyton Orient 2-1 Wigan Athletic
Needing a victory to avoid slipping out of the playoff race, we back Leyton Orient to bounce back at the weekend and take all three points against a depleted Wigan Athletic side who are yet to get going under Ryan Lowe.
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