After sealing a monumental and unprecedented promotion to the Championship on Monday afternoon, the Imps’ focus now shifts to a title charge, starting with Leyton Orient at home this weekend in the early kick-off, writes Kyle Fox.
A dreadful run of results spanning from the beginning of December to 17th February began with Orient being eliminated from both the EFL Trophy and the FA Cup within the space of three days. During that spell, they played 13 times, losing eight, drawing three, and winning on just two occasions. Interestingly, the two sides they beat at Brisbane Road were Reading, who are play-off contenders, and Bradford, who sit third in the table at this stage. Throughout this streak, they were dragged into the relegation battle for a period, which they have now largely managed to pull away from.
They now sit in 15th position on 50 points, level with Wimbledon below them in 16th. Barnsley sit directly above them with two games in hand, alongside Peterborough in 13th. Mansfield sit above that group in 12th on 53 points, having also played 39 games, like Barnsley. The O’s are four points above Exeter, but crucially, they hold a game in hand. With only four games left for the sides currently occupying 21st, 20th, and 19th, Leyton Orient will be hopeful of remaining clear of that battle.
Richie Wellens’ side have certainly been moving in the right direction lately, particularly on their travels. Over their last four away games, they remain unbeaten, with two wins and two draws. That run also includes consecutive clean sheets in their two most recent away outings against Exeter and Wigan. This improvement will be welcomed by the Orient faithful, especially considering they rank joint-highest for goals conceded, alongside three other teams, with 64.
Leyton Orient Form
Immediately after that barren run of results, Leyton Orient became one of the form teams over the last ten games. It began with a win away at Northampton before back-to-back defeats, first at home to Barnsley and then away at Bradford. However, they responded with a four-game winning streak, beating Stevenage and Wimbledon away, alongside Peterborough and Wycombe at home.Their latest result was a 2–1 defeat at home to Huddersfield, with the visitors scoring in the 96th minute through Ryan Ledson. They sit sixth for form over the last six games and fourth over the last ten.
Attacking-wise, Leyton Orient still rank fairly strongly in key metrics: 12th for goals per match (1.4) and xG (51.3), 11th for shots on target per match (3.9), and 9th for touches in the opposition box (897). Defensively, however, it is less impressive, with them sitting 21st for clean sheets (9) and xG conceded (60.3), and 22nd for goals conceded per match (1.6).Another area in which Orient struggle is set pieces—an aspect Lincoln excel in, and one that could prove key in this fixture. The visitors sit bottom for set-piece goals scored with just eight, and 23rd for goals conceded with 21. By contrast, Lincoln sit top with 27 scored and just 11 conceded, ranking them sixth defensively in that category.
The key player in this fixture will, of course, be talisman Dom Ballard, who was nominated for Player of the Season earlier this week. He is the division’s top scorer with 21 goals, two ahead of Kyle Wootton and three ahead of Jayden Wareham. He is also 13 league goals clear of his closest teammate, with Aaron Connolly on eight. Interestingly, Ballard is actually currently on a run of four games without a goal. Idris El Mizouni has also been a standout performer for the East London side, despite making only 24 league appearances due to injury between late November and mid-March. Forward Oliver O’Neill is the club’s top assister with eight.
After securing a historic promotion away at Reading, Michael Skubala’s Lincoln City are now chasing further accolades. They have the chance to surpass their highest-ever number of home wins in a league campaign. That record currently stands at 17, and Skubala’s side have 16—meaning they must win both remaining home fixtures to break the mark set in the 1982–83 season. Lincoln also still have the 100-point milestone within reach.
Team News
Skubala’s pre-match press conference focused largely on celebrations, reflections and targets for the rest of the season, meaning little team news emerged. As a result, the squad is expected to remain largely unchanged. The only concerns are Ben House, who was forced off after 59 minutes, and Dom Jefferies, who also went off shortly after sustaining a knock in the 64th minute.
Leyton Orient were without head coach Richie Wellens for their fixture against Wigan on Good Friday due to a medical procedure related to a bulging disc in his neck. He returned for the match against Huddersfield. Wellens has largely not been involved in media duties during this time, with assistant head coach Paul Terry stepping up in his place. Terry has also previewed this fixture.
Terry stated that they are hopeful of having a few players return for this game. Josh Koroma, however, is more of a doubt for this match. He revealed that Tom James and Theo Archibald are both carrying minor injuries that may affect their availability. He is also hopeful that both Demetri Mitchell and Jack Simpson will return after the pair did not make the matchday squad on Monday. Idris El Mizouni picked up a knock before being withdrawn during his first start back from injury on Monday, but there was no further mention of his fitness during the interview. Goalkeeper Will Dennis also missed the Huddersfield game, along with key attacker Oliver O’Neill, with neither player discussed further. Dylan Levitt is now back training on the grass, with long-term absentee Aaron Connolly alongside him, as the duo aim to return to fitness before the season’s end. Defender Rarmani Edmonds-Green has not featured since October, and midfielder Sean Clare has been absent since 28th March.
Predicted Leyton Orient XI
Oluwatemi, Happe, Forrester, Casey, Morris, El Mizouni, Abdulai, Archibald, Wellens, Bakinson, Ballard.
Previous Meetings
Since their promotion to League One, Orient and City have met every season from 2023/24 onwards. The results are evenly split, with both sides recording three wins apiece heading into this fixture.
One of Lincoln’s few defeats this campaign came at Brisbane Road, where the Imps failed to register a shot on target, with the winner coming in the second half through El Mizouni.
Prior to that, the home side had won each of the previous three meetings—two for Lincoln and one for Orient. The last away win came courtesy of Lincoln in a rearranged fixture following the tragic passing of Leyton Orient supporter Derek Reynolds.
Prediction
Lincoln 2-1 Leyton Orient
You must be logged in to post a comment.