League 2 
Leyton Orient will be aiming to extend their unbeaten run to eight games and further their lead at the top of League Two as they welcome Colchester to Brisbane Road on Saturday afternoon.
The top-of-the-table O’s are now on an unbeaten run spanning seven games and have a healthy six point gap between themselves and Stevenage in second place. However, two successive draws have narrowed the gap between the chasing pack and nerves may start to creep in during the run in.
Richie Wellens side have recorded back-to-back draws against Grimsby and Swindon in which they were leading in both games. Most recently they recorded a 2-2 draw against Grimsby who currently occupy 15th place in the table.
Orient were not in action last weekend as their game against Mansfield was postponed due to the snowy conditions, meaning that the O’s have not been in action since the 4th of March. It is yet to be seen whether Orient will come back refreshed or rusty given their two week rest.
Paul Smyth has been instrumental to Orient’s success this year, with the striker having netted nine times in the league so far this year. Smyth’s form has not gone unnoticed as he was awarded with the English Football League player of the year at the London football awards in the week.
The visitors are in the midst of a terrible run of form which has seen them be dragged into the potential relegation scrap once again. Colchester find themselves in 20th place in the table,just six points above Crawley Town who occupy 23rd place.
Ben Garner’s side come into this game having lost four on the bounce and only gained five points from the last 21 on offer. However, this run of games has been against tough opposition as all four of their last games have come against sides who are currently inside the top six of the League Two table.
This weekend marks Ben Garner’s second game in charge of the U’s following Matt Bloomfield’s departure to join League One Wycombe Wanderers. Garner was unable to make an instant impact in his first game in charge last weekend as Colcheter were narrowly defeated by Stockport 1-0, whilst failing to record a shot on target all afternoon.
This has been a fixture that Colchester have enjoyed in recent years, having only lost on one occasion in the past eight meetings in the Football League. This run has included five wins for Colchester and two draws.
However, when these sides met in the reverse fixture at the beginning of the campaign, it was Leyton Orient who cruised to victory. A first half own goal was followed up by goals from The Archibald and Charlie Kelman as Orient ran out 3-1 winners.
Unsurprisingly, given the respective form of these sides heading into this matchup, it is Leyton Orient who are odds on favourites @ 7/10, whilst a shock away win for Colchester is currently priced @ 15/4.
We are backing Leyton Orient to win and BTTS as this is often a fixture where both teams get on the scoresheet. In 71.4% of meetings of these sides in the last five years both teams have scored and we believe that the O’s have the superior quality to come out on top.
