Leyton Orient assistant coach Ross Embleton is hoping his side have the edge when they travel to promotion rivals Wrexham on Saturday. The top three in the National League are separated by just one point and Embleton is excited by the contest. Speaking to the O’s Show “it is two confident teams going head to head, these games are the ones we’re in football for and an occasion we all want to be part of”.

• Sit 1st on 43 points – one point ahead of Salford
• League Record – P20  W12  D7  L1  F40  A13
• Won four of their last six in league
• Lost just one of their last seven in all competitions

The O’s head to Wrexham on the back of a 3-1 victory against Bromley last weekend. Orient trailed at the break from a John Goddard free kick but goals from Jobi McAnuff, Josh Koroma and MacAuley Bonne saw the O’s move top of the table. Head Coach Justin Edinburgh praised the second half performance of his side to leytonorient.com. He stated “credit to the players at half time, come out with a real purpose, the break probably stopped some momentum of the way we were playing. We certainly picked it up in the second half and ran out to win game 3-1″.

• Kept eight league clean sheets (three away)
• No clean sheet in last three
• Kept three in their last six league games
• Kept two in last six away league games

Orient’s last Six results

Last weekend’s game was Orient’s first game for two weeks and once again they proved dominant in the second period to grab all three points. Midfielder Jobi McAnuff feels the rest has done his side good as they head into the festive period but acknowledges it took time for his side to get back into their rhythm. Speaking to leytonorient.com “it was a fantastic result, after a little layoff, it is good when you get it and it does take a little extra time to get going again. We had a good mix of rest and hopefully we will see the benefit in the coming weeks. The second half showed how strong and fit we are”.

• Scored 24/40 league goals in the second half
• Netted 17 after the 60th minute
• But seven of their last 13 goals have been scored in the first half
• Have opened the scoring in four of their last five away games – all before the 30th minute

Orient’s Next Six Games

Saturday’s victory over Bromley was Orient’s second in a row at the Breyer Group Stadium and McAnuff highlights the importance of grabbing maximum points at home as they head to Wrexham on Saturday. Speaking to leytonorient.com “we have been really good away from home this year and picked some great results. The win at home enables us to manage our away games a bit better when we are winning at home”.

• Away League Record – P10  W6  D4  F20  A7
• Top Scorers away and only Fylde (5) have conceded fewer
• Won five of last eight in all competitions – W5  D2  L1
• Unbeaten in last 11 away league games
• Only lost one of last 15 away league games – W8  D6  L1

The O’s are the only unbeaten side on the road this season in the National League and McAnuff is hoping his side can continue their form on Saturday. With a trip to a promotion rival, the 37 year old knows that results against each other could prove crucial at the back end of the season. Speaking to leytonorient.com “it’s a massive one next week, we want to win and we are going there to win. It is a team who are in and around us, It’s going to be a real battle between top three and four and could come down to results against. From our point going to win but make sure we don’t lose”. 

Head to Head table between top seven in National League

The O’s took four points off the Dragons last season and Edinburgh echoed his same stance as the rest of the season, only looking at the next game. Speaking to leytonorient.com “we go again and another big game. Each game on its own merit is a tough game, no tough than today. It’s a big game and one we look forward to it again and we look to continue our unbeaten run on the road”.

• Failed to score in two league games 
• Scored in last four games – scoring 11 goals
• Scored in every away league game – only failed in one of last 12 away games in all competitions
• Scored two or more in seven of their last ten games – including three of last four

Team News

Charlie Lee (knee) and Sam Ling (ankle) could back involved in the squad are overcoming recent injuries. Defender Marvin Ekpiteta should overcome a dead leg which saw him substituted against Bromley last weekend.

Head to Head – Leyton Orient 12, Draw 11, Wrexham 11

• Orient are unbeaten in their last four meetings – W2  D2
• Haven’t lost at the Racecourse since 1995, three meetings – W1  D2
• Took four points out of six last season against Wrexham
• Four of the last sevens meetings have ended as draws
• Last defeat – 1-0 home defeat 29/04/2003

The Last Eight Meetings Between Sides

Last Time Out – 3-1 home win vs Bromley

Starting 11 vs Bromley

Prediction – Wrexham 1-1 Leyton Orient