As the race for promotion heats up in League One, Leyton Orient will face strugglers Northampton Town at the Gaughan Group Stadium on Saturday.
The O's will be looking to get back on track after a string of losses, while the Cobblers will be hoping to distance themselves from the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Richie Wellens's Orient only lost one league game between December and mid-February, but they have since lost four on the bounce leading up to this weekend's clash.
Most recently, the O's were beaten 1-0 by mid-table Rotherham United, and the manager will be disappointed that his team were unable to recover from Jayden Sweeney's own goal on the hour mark.
That loss left Wellens's side ninth in the table with 53 points, and now that they have fallen five behind sixth-placed Huddersfield Town in the race for the playoffs, everybody at the club will be ruing their poor form.
However, the hosts have the chance to get back to winning ways against a Northampton team that have struggled this season, and with six wins and two losses from their last eight games on their own turf, they will be confident of securing maximum points.
Victory for Orient on Saturday could see them leapfrog Reading and climb up to eighth, where they may be just two points from the playoffs by the next matchday.
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Meanwhile, Kevin Nolan's Northampton have been much improved in recent weeks, a fact borne out in their record of three wins during February, which is as many as they had managed between late October and the end of January.
Heading into this weekend, the Cobblers drew back-to-back matches against Exeter City and promotion-chasing Stockport County, and those two points took them up to 18th in the third tier, where they sit five points above Burton Albion in the relegation zone.
That being said, Burton have the same form record over the last six matches as the visitors, and with just one loss from their last six away games, Nolan's side will be keen to put points on the board to avoid being drawn into a battle for third-tier survival.
In the reverse fixture, Northampton ran out 1-0 winners thanks to a second-half strike from midfielder Cameron McGeehan, and the same result this time around could take the Cobblers above Peterborough United, Mansfield Town and Wigan Athletic, and into 15th place.
Team News
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Orient left-back Jayden Sweeney will be desperate to make up for the own goal that sunk his team last time out, so expect him to put in a strong performance alongside Rarmani Edmonds-Green, Brandon Cooper and Ethan Galbraith in defence.
Further forward, striker Charlie Kelman will be supported by Jamie Donley from an attacking midfield position, as well as Daniel Agyei and Dilan Markanday from out wide.
As for Northampton, they will once again be missing midfielder Liam Shaw, who has not featured since picking up an injury against Barnsley on February 25.
In his absence, Nolan is likely to select Ben Perry alongside Terry Taylor in the centre of the park, flanked by Mitchell Pinnock and Sam Hoskins.
Elsewhere, October's matchwinner Cameron McGeehan should start with Tarique Fosu-Henry behind striker Dara Costelloe.
Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:
Keeley; Galbraith, Cooper, Edmonds-Green, Sweeney; Brown, Ball; Agyei, Donley, Markanday; Kelman
Northampton Town possible starting lineup:
Burge; Odimayo, Dyche, Guiness-Walker; Pinnock, Perry, Taylor, Hoskins; McGeehan, Fosu-Henry; Costelloe
We say: Leyton Orient 2-0 Northampton Town
Orient may have lost four on the bounce ahead of this weekend's clash, but they will know the importance of taking all three points having fallen behind in the race for promotion.
Expect Northampton to put up a fight given the threat of relegation looming close behind them, but considering the strength of their home record, the O's should get the win in front of their own crowd.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
