Leyton Orient will be looking to boost their chances of sneaking back into the League One playoffs when they welcome Stevenage to Brisbane Road on Thursday night.
The O's are seeking revenge against the Boro after they suffered a narrow 1-0 home defeat in the third round of the EFL Trophy at the end of January.
Match preview
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Leyton Orient were one of the in-form teams in the country towards the end of last year and the start of 2025, as they put together a 12-game unbeaten run (W10 D2) between November 30 and January 18 in all competitions. However, they have had their fair share of struggles since then.
Indeed, the O's have lost eight of their last 14 matches (W6), but a five-match losing streak in League One was ended last weekend when Richie Wellens's men secured a much-needed 2-1 away victory over Blackpool.
Goals either side of half time from Charlie Kelman helped Orient claim maximum points and leapfrog Blackpool into ninth place in the third-tier standings, moving them to within five points of Huddersfield Town in sixth spot with nine matches left to play.
Almost two season's on from winning the League Two title, Orient remain in contention to secure a playoff spot in League One as they eye promotion to the Championship. The O's are now preparing for five consecutive fixtures against teams currently below them in the table.
The first of those is Thursday's contest with 13th-placed Stevenage whom they have beaten only once in their last eight league meetings, while their last home league victory over the Boro was a 3-0 success in August 2016 when both sides were competing in the fourth tier.
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After finishing ninth and narrowly missing out on a playoff position last season, Stevenage have slipped out of top-six contention in recent months and are now on course for a mid-table finish this term.
Since winning three successive League One matches against Barnsley, Wrexham and Exeter City at the end of January, the Boro have come out on top in only two of their last 10 league fixtures, most recently playing out a 1-1 draw with Reading last weekend.
Stevenage captain Carl Piergianni scored at both ends as he initially headed the Royals in front four minutes after the interval before atoning for his error with an equaliser - also from a header - 11 minutes later to rescue a point for the visitors.
Sitting 12 points behind the top six with nine games remaining, Alex Revell's side are still to face six teams who currently sit above them in the League One table, with four of those to be played away from home including Thursday's trip to Leyton Orient.
The Boro have won just two of their last 11 league games against Orient (D6 L3), failing to score in eight of those games, but they are unbeaten in their last six visits to Brisbane Road across all competitions (W2 D4), including the aforementioned 1-0 EFL Trophy win just over two months ago.
Team News
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After a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Leyton Orient's Ollie O'Neill made a welcome return to action in a behind-closed-doors friendly last week, and the winger could be named in the senior matchday squad on Thursday.
Jack Currie, Sean Clare, Diallang Jaiyesimi and top scorer Kelman - who has netted 18 times on loan from Queens Park Rangers this season - were all handed recalls for the win over Blackpool and could retain their places in the starting lineup.
As for Stevenage, Daniel Phillips will serve the second and final game of a two-match suspension, so Jordan Roberts - who replaced him in the first XI last time out - could continue on the right flank, with Eli King operating in midfield alongside Louis Thompson.
Dan Kemp has scored a team-high 10 goals this season, but he has failed to find the net in his last six appearances. Nevertheless, the attacking midfielder is expected to continue in the number 10 role behind Brandon Hanlan up front.
Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:
Keeley; Clare, Edmonds-Green, Simpson, Curry; Brown, Galbraith; Agyei, Abdulai, Jaiyesimi; Kelman
Stevenage possible starting lineup:
Cooper, Freeman, Goode, Piergianni, Butler; Thompson, King; Roberts, Kemp, Reid; Hanlan
We say: Leyton Orient 1-0 Stevenage
There has been little to separate these two teams in recent meetings and another closely-contested battle could be on the cards on Thursday. Stevenage may have already beaten Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road this season, but we are backing the playoff-chasing O's to come out on top this time around.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
