New Leyton Orient manager Alberto Cavasin relished his first full week on the training pitch ahead of Luton Town’s visit tomorrow afternoon. The Italian who was appointed at the start of October saw his side lose two games in his first week in charge but with no midweek game, his sole focus has been on the Hatters.

• Orient sit 20th on 11 points (just 2 points above relegation zone)
• No win in last 7 games in all competitions (3rd September, 2-1 vs Morecambe)

Speaking to leytonorient.com earlier today (Friday), “no midweek fixture has enabled us to spend a full week on the training pitch and focus on the test that Luton will give us tomorrow”. Orient have been in poor form since the start of September but Cavasin is hoping the players effort will be rewarded tomorrow, “all the players have worked hard throughout the week and hopefully it will pay off tomorrow. They are taking everything on board both individually and collectively as a team”.

• League Record – P12 W3 D3 L6 F12 A15
• Form in last 8 league games – W1 d2 L5  F6 A12
• Form (most recent first) – LLDLLLDW

Orient lost their third home game in a row to Portsmouth last weekend as their win less run continued. It was Cavasin’s first home game in charge of the O’s but it didn’t go to plan when Christian Burgess headed home for a corner early in the second half. Cavasin acknowledges that his side must be better from set pieces, speaking early today to leytonorient.com ‘ Unfortunately last weekend, we were undone by another set piece and that has to stop’

• Home Record – P6 W1 D0 L5  F4 A7
• Only Newport (2) and Exeter (1) have taken less points at home
• Last home games (most recent first) – LLLWLW
• 2 of Orient’s last 4 goals conceded at home have been from set pieces – 
• Luton’s Town Set Piece Dangers (click link for Luton’s set pieces this season)

Defender Jens Janse is looking for his side to stay focused when Luton travel to Leyton tomorrow. The Dutch defender joined in September but his debut did not go to plan when he was sent off 21 minutes in against Plymouth. However the 30 year old is hoping for his side to bounce back, “we lost last week and it was frustrating but we have another game on Saturday. We have to keep the hard work going and try to get the three points”.

• Only kept 2 clean sheets in 15 games this season
• Only kept 1 in 8 home games
• Conceded in last 5 home games and 13 out of 15 games this season
• Conceded 13 of their 15 goals in the second half
• Including 11 of their last 12
• Only Yeovil 14 have conceded more in that period
• Orient have conceded 5 goals between 46-60 minutes and 7 in last 15 minutes of matches
• No team in  league 2 has conceded more in that period – dropped 6 points

Continuing in his interview with leytonorient.com today, Janse knows what to expect with an Italian manager, “I played in Italy so have some experience with Italian managers. Tactically they are very strong, he (Cavasin) is a good coach, all the boys like him, he is a funny guy and try to get the spirit in the team” . After a full week of training, Janse has seen that Cavasin’s ideas are being put into practice “you can see in training we are slowly getting the shape and hope to see results. We work tactically more as a group and will look to take the 3 points on Saturday”.

• 4 of Orient’s 6 defeats have been by just 1 goal

Despite Orient’s lowly position, Janse is certainly looking up, “all the teams in this league are close to each other, if we start to win games, we will soon by in the play off places”. The defender by trade was played in a midfield role last weekend after injuries to Nigel Atangana and Liam Kelly but insists his side have to “look at ourselves tomorrow, if we play well, stay compact and play as a team then we can win every match, we hope to take the 3 points and look towards the top of the table”.

• Failed to score in last 4 games and 5 out of the last 6
• Only scored one goal in last 566 minutes of competitive football
• Both Teams have only scored in 1 of their last 6 games 
• Orient are the second lowest scorers at home – only Exeter (1) have scored less in front of their home fans

Cavasin’s side face another one of the pre season contenders for promotion tomorrow, with the Italian acknowledging the threat the Hatters will pose, “Luton are a very good team, we will certainly not be underestimating them. Their position in the table shows how tough tomorrow’s game will be for us”. But the 60 year old is confident that his side can pick up a result “I do not doubt the quality of the quality of the squad here and we are more than capable of delivering a strong performance that will give us maximum opportunity to come away with a positive result”.

• Record scoring first – W3 D2 
• 42 of Orient’s 45 points collected in 2016 have been when they have scored first goal
• Won 13 of their last 15 games scoring first
• Only lost 1 of their last 21 games scoring first (Exeter 1-3 home, 18/01/16) –             W14 D6 L1
• Record Conceding first – L6
• Not won any of their last 17 games conceding first – W0 D2 L15
• Only picked up 1 win in their last 31 conceding first (3-2 Portsmouth, 26/12/16)      W1 D9 L21

Luton arrive in E10 following their third consecutive 1-1 draw in the League with Crewe Alexandra last weekend. Danny Hylton put the Hatters ahead in the first half before Ryan Lowe headed the away side level. Luton have been unpredictable at the start of the season but sit 5th, just three points behind third placed Carlisle.

• League Record – P12 W5 D4 L3  F21  A13
• Only Doncaster (25) have scored more than Luton

Manager Nathan Jones feels his side are in a real strong place after the first 12 games of the season however the former Brighton first team coach revealed that they are slightly behind his points target. Speaking to lutontown.co.uk on Thursday “we could be in a better position, on the whole we are slightly behind my target but we have had a great start with good results but we are now refocusing”

• Away Record – P6 W2 D2 L2  F9 A6
• Last away games (most recent first) – DDLWWLW
• Form in last 8 – W3 D3 L2  F14  A9
• Form (most recent first) – DWDDWLLW

The Hatters have picked some impressive result already this season over Aston Villa (3-1), Plymouth (3-0) Wycombe (4-1), Donny (3-1) with Jones stated that “the club is in a good place and we have bedded in some real youngsters”. The last two games Luton have been pegged back after taking the lead but Jones knows his side are still firmly in the mix “we haven’t been out of the top 7, we don’t want to be, we want to be in the top 3″

• Only kept 3 clean sheets in 16 games this season – 2 in league, both away from home
• No clean sheet in last 7 league matches
• Kept only 1 clean sheet in last 9 games in all competitions ( 2-0 vs WBA U23

Jones was appointed at the start of 2016 and after a summer of recruiting feels he now has the squad capable of challenging, “we have a good squad to cope, they are in a good place, we would like to be top, the competition and environment around the club is wonderful. We now have balance, quality and variation”.

• 4 of their 12 league matches have ended 1-1
• 3 of their 5 wins have been by 3 goals (2 away from home)

The Luton boss things a key to his side succeeding is concentrating on what they do, speaking to lutontown.co.uk “we don’t judge ourselves on anybody else, if we get enough things right over the season, we will be in a good position”. Jones has brought a passing style of play to Kenilworth Road and is looking for his side to play “their way tomorrow”.

• Only failed to score in 2 of their 16 games this season and 1 of their 6 away games
• Scored in their last 5 games and 9 of their last 10
• Danny Hylton (7), Jack Marriott (3), Cameron McGeehan (5) have scored 15 of their 21 league goals – been involved in 17/21 goals

Luton won 1-0 at Brisbane Road in March but thinks that Orient are in a false position for the squad they possess, “they have got better players than what they have shown, there are no easy games at this level”. Jones main concern ahead of Orient tomorrow is “what we turn up and do. If we go there and play how we can play, it takes a very good side to beat us. We have a way of playing that we like enjoying. All I can effect is my players”

• Only Morecambe (14) have scored more second half goals than Luton (13)
• 5 of their last 6 goals scored in all competitions have been in the second half
• Have scored 7 goals in the last 15 minutes of matches – a league high with Notts County

Defender Scott Cuthbert is relishing a return to his former club tomorrow but was disappointed on the manner of the goal conceded last week. Speaking to lutontown.co.uk after the Crewe draw”we are disappointed to concede a goal with their only real chance, we haven’t stopped the cross and not dealt with the only man in the box. We take the positives from it, it is another point against a team that will be up there”.

• Record scoring first – W4 D3 L1
• Have drew last 2 scoring first and are unbeaten in their last 4 scoring first
• Only lost 1 of their last 20 games scoring first – W15 D4 L1
• Lost just 3 of their last 33 scoring first – all defeats coming away from home

Cuthbert enjoyed four years at Brisbane Road before departing for the Hatters in 2015 and will be looking to replicate his performance in early March, “I always enjoy going back to former clubs, we will work on everything this week leading to the Orient game”

• Record conceding first – W1 D1 L2
• Only won 2 of their last 22 conceding first – W2 D4 L16

Team News

Orient will be without the suspended Robbie Weir who serves the last match of his three game ban. Liam Kelly remains a doubt after being subsituted in the first half against Portsmouth last week while Nigel Atangana is also a doubt after missing the last five matches with a groin injury. Midfielder Harry Cornick is still sidelined through injury.

Luton will be without Ollie Lee who is suspended while midfielder Danny Green and Nathan Doyle remain absent. Johnny Mullins and Craig Mackail-Smith are back fit and in contention.

Head to Head – Leyton Orient 16 , Draw 14 , Luton Town 30

Last meeting – 05/03/2016 – Leyton Orient 0-1 Luton Town

• Orient have lost two of the last three meetings between sides
• Orient last beat Luton in 2008 when they completed the league double over the Hatters
• Orient have won two of the last five meetings
• Orient have only won twice since 1979
• Luton have won 14 out of the last 19 meetings between sides
• Luton have scored in 12 of the last 13 games against Orient
• Luton have scored on their last 6 trips to Brisbane Road

Prediction – Leyton Orient 1-1 Luton Town