Lincoln City return to the LNER Stadium after adding two more games to their unbeaten away streak.
Ten-men Lincoln needed an injury time equaliser to secure a point at Blackpool in midweek. It stretched their unbeaten run to five SkyBet League One games, and their stellar away form to a club record 14 games without defeat.
Opposition: Leyton Orient
Richie Wellens’ relatively young side had amassed a run of four unbeaten league games before they lost to visiting Exeter City on Tuesday night.
That followed a rough start to the campaign for Orient, where they sat rock bottom of the table after four defeats in the opening four outings.
Leyton Orient are without a real talisman so far this term. Loanee Charlie Kelman is the club’s top scorer with less than a handful of goals, while the top assister has just two contributions.
The London-based outfit sit just one point clear of the dotted red line, but will surely take some confidence in their away form. The O’s two wins have both come away from Brisbane Road, against Reading and a stunning 4-1 win over Stockport County.
Lincoln have struggled somewhat at home, and have only come away victorious in one of their LNER Stadium games this term. However, an impressive run away from their home patch has seen them to fourth in League One.
Team News:
Adam Jackson will miss the game after his red card at Blackpool. He picked up two yellow cards against the Tangerines.
Ben House has been ruled out of the visit of Leyton Orient. The striker has a broken nose, which Michael Skubala has said is recovering well, while he is still subject to concussion protocol.
Ethan Hamilton is back on the training ground and is “in contention” for the weekend. Skubala said he could make the bench, but would not be able to play a full 90 minutes. Reeco Hackett is also back in training with the squad, and is in a similar position to Hamilton.
Skubala said: “Both of them are close now, which is really, really good.”
Elsewhere, Tyler Walker remains sidelined, and Zach Jeacock is absent due to the concussion protocol.
Head-to-Head:
Leyton Orient have not come away with a win in their last five meetings with Lincoln City. That dates back to October 2004.
Last season, the Imps won both of their clashes with Orient thanks to a late goal. Jovon Makama netted in the 90th minute at Sincil Bank, while Ethan Hamilton’s 89th minute winner secured the points in the reverse fixture.
Overall, they have a pretty even record. Orient have 22 wins, while Lincoln have 21. Their other 18 meetings, dating back to 1905, have ended level.
Played for Both:
Midfielder Max Sanders has played for both teams in recent years. He featured well over 50 times for the Imps, before moving south to spend a season at The O’s.
Even more recently, Alex Mitchell has been on the books of both sides. He spent the 2021/22 season on loan at Orient, before joining Lincoln for a spell last term.
Follow LincSport on Twitter/X for live coverage of the game on Saturday, October 5.