Cheltenham Town manager Michael Duff has urged his side to focused ahead of their meeting with Leyton Orient at Jonny-Rocks Stadium. The Robins maintained their spot in the top seven on Tuesday night and the 42 year old is keen to keep looking up. Speaking to ctfc.com “the mantra is to win the next one, we will park up Tuesday night and move onto the next one”

• Sit 7th on 51 points – inside playoffs on goal difference
• One defeat in last four – W2  D1  L1
• Only lost two of their last nine – W4  D3  L2
• League Record – P31  W13  D12  L6  F45  A25

The Robins bounced back from Saturday’s defeat with  1-0 away at Carlisle on Tuesday night courtesy of Reuben Reid’s second of the season. The 31 year old made his first start since December and was delighted to get the win for his team. Speaking to ctfc.com “if you take in to account the whole scenario , to travel up on the day and the elements. To come and get the win was very satisfying. In the end we probably done enough to get the three points”.

Cheltenham’s Last Six Results

Cheltenham battled Storm Ciara on Tuesday night and with Storm Dennis on the way, Duff highlighted he wants his side to continue where they left off at Brunton Park. Speaking to ctfc.com “we actually played some good football and got in two or three times. We made good chances through good football. We don’t want it to be a game of chance, we want the best team to win. There’s not a lot we can do about the conditions. We expect the mentality and resilience every game, it shouldn’t matter on the weather or stage of the season”.

• Failed to score in eight league games – one at home
• Scored in three of last four
• Scored in last three home games, netting eight
• Only failed in one of 18 home games all season
• Scored two or more in 13 league games, nine at home

The Robins grabbed their first clean sheet in six games on Tuesday night and defender Charlie Raglan admitted his side have worked hard on being difficult to play against. The 26 year old has only missed one league match this season and stated to ctfc.com “it’s massive, we’ve been pretty good defensively this year but we put a lot of emphasis on our solidity at the back, it’s a nice reward for the back five and goalkeeper. On Tuesday it was a massive team performance so yes a clean sheet is a bonus but three points were always the most important thing”.

• Best defensive Record in League – conceded just 25 goals in 31 games
• Kept ten league clean sheets – Three at home
• Kept just two in last 12 games
• One clean sheet in last ten home games
• Not conceded more than twice in a league game, only team in league

Cheltenham are right a play off battle with just one point separating five teams in the battle for the top seven. The Robins host Orient in the first of three consecutive home games and will be looking to stamp their authority. Defender Raglan highlighted the positive of having nine of their remaining 15 games at home to ctfc.com “it’ll make a massive difference. We’ve had a decent year at home in terms of results and performances where the fans have been great so we’re going to need them throughout that run we’ve got. Keep the momentum high and make it tough for the opposition teams so we look forward to those nine games and hope we can pick up a few good results”.

• Home league Record – P14  W8  D4  L2  F30  15
• Won last three games – F8  A2
• One defeat in last five games – W3  D1  L1
• Only lost two at home in league all season
• 28/51 points come at home

The O’s beat Cheltenham back on the opening day in East London but Duff highlights the Orient arrive in Gloucestershire in form. Speaking to ctfc.com on the Orient, “they’ve picked up, only lost one in six and have some really good performances and it will be a really tough game. They have a real attacking front three, three center forwards on the pitch and have good delivery from wide areas”

• 66% of league points have come against current bottom half teams
• Won all seven home games – F21  A5
• Bottom Half record – P17  W10  D4  L3 

Cheltenham have only lost six league games all season and Raglan highlights his side feel they can win most games if they are at it. Speaking to ctfc.com “I think we go into it feeling that we can win the game. We’ve played everybody and not lost many this season but we’ve got a quiet confidence about us. I don’t think we’re arrogant. We’re humble enough to know we’re not the finished article and we haven’t cracked it”. 

• Scored 27/45 league goals in the second half (19/30) at home
• Netted 20 in final 30 minutes, with 14 of them coming at home

Team News

Chris Clements returns to the squad after recovering from injury. Striker Luke Varney, midfielder Connor Thomas and defender Jacob Greaves are all pushing for starts after dropping out of the starting 11 at Carlisle in midweek. George Lloyd and Scott Flinders remain out through injury.

Head to Head – Cheltenham 10, Draw 5, Leyton Orient 7

Last Meeting – 03/08/2019 – Leyton Orient 1-0 Cheltenham

The Past Seven Meetings Between Sides

• Cheltenham have only won one of the last four meetings – W1  D1  L2
• Not won last two at home – D1  L1
• Four of the last five wins have been 1-0
• Only two of the last seven games has seen both teams score
• Has only been one draw in past ten meetings

Last Time Out – 11/02/2020 – Carlisle 0-1 Cheltenham

Starting 11 vs Carlisle

Prediction – Cheltenham 2-1 Leyton Orient