Two teams in the bottom half of League One square off at the Gaughan Group Stadium on Saturday as Leyton Orient play host to Blackpool.
The O's and the Tangerines meet for the first time since February when the former secured a narrow 1-0 home win over the latter, courtesy of a goal from Ollie O'Neill.
Match preview
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After finishing 11th in League One last season, Leyton Orient have since struggled at the start of the 2024-25 season, picking up just 11 points after winning three, drawing two and losing eight of their 13 matches.
The O's ended a five-game winless league run by securing all three points in a narrow 1-0 home victory over Rotherham United just over a fortnight ago, but they returned to losing ways just a few days later as they were beaten 3-0 at leaders Wycombe Wanderers, leaving them 20th in the table and just above the bottom four on goal difference.
Richie Wellens' side were in FA Cup action last weekend and managed to scrape into the second round 3-1 on penalties after letting a two-goal lead slip away against National League South side Boreham Wood.
Leyton Orient have been rewarded with a home tie against another non-league side in Oldham Athletic. That tie will be played in final week of November and they must first turn their attention back to League One, with Wellens and co seeking to win just their second home league game in nine matches (D3 L4) when they face Blackpool this weekend.
The O's have won just one of their last six league matches against Blackpool (D1 L4), scoring just three goals in the process, but the Tangerines have lost five of their last eight away league games against Orient, failing to make the net ripple in each of those defeats.
Steve Bruce has overseen 12 matches in charge of Blackpool since his appointment was confirmed at the beginning of September, winning five, drawing three and losing four in all competitions.
The 63-year-old steered the Tangerines to victory in each of his first four league games, but his side have since failed to come out in top in any of their last five third-tier fixtures, conceding 12 goals during this run.
Since drawing 2-2 with Wigan Athletic in their most recent league games, Blackpool have had mixed success in two domestic cup competitions. They beat Gillingham 2-0 away in the FA Cup last weekend - setting up a second-round tie with Bruce's former club Birmingham City - before drawing 0-0 at home to Liverpool Under-21s and losing the resulting penalty shootout 8-7 in the EFL Trophy group stage.
Blackpool, who sit 16th in the League One table, will be looking to return to winning ways on Saturday and could climb to as high as 11th with a victory, while a defeat could see them slip to as low as 19th and leave them hovering just two points above the relegation zone if other results were not to go their way.
Team News
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Leyton Orient's Jordan Graham - who has not started a league game for over 12 months due to a number of different injuries - is facing another spell on the sidelines with a thigh problem, while Theo Archibald remains out as he continues to recover from a knee injury.
Dan Agyei has scored a team-high five goals this season and is expected to start in attack with Charlie Kelman, who has four goals to his name this term, and Ollie O'Neill, who has not scored in 12 appearances thus far.
As for Blackpool, Andy Lyons remains sidelined with a knee injury, while Albie Morgan is "touch-and-go" for Saturday, according to assistant coach Richard Keogh, having missed the last three games through illness.
After making 11 changes in midweek, Bruce is expected to recall several senior stars including Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel, Oliver Casey, Lee Evans, CJ Hamilton and Kyle Joseph, the latter two have scored nine goals between them so far this season.
Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:
Keeley; Ball, Beckles, Happe, Currie; Pratley, Brown; Kelman, Galbraith, O'Neill; Agyei
Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Tyrer; Lawrence-Gabriel, Offiah, Casey, Husband; Apter, Evans, Carey, Hamilton; Fletcher, Joseph
We say: Leyton Orient 1-2 Blackpool
Both teams are keen to swiftly turn their fortunes around and climb the table, and they will view Saturday's fixture as a good opportunity to claim all three points. There is little to separate these two sides, but we are backing Blackpool to outscore their opponents and claim a slender victory on their travels.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
