Leyton Orient
- Richie Wellens’ O’s side favour structured build-up play and midfield control, with players who can play off the shoulder and in midfield.
- Three points for the home side would put a bit of daylight between Orient and the relegation zone.
- Wellens has been under pressure to cut Orient’s poor defensive record of late, fiddling with his line-up to get the best out of Dom Ballard and find the right balance.
- Ballard is Orient’s top scorer with around 15 league goals, although Aaron Connolly and Josh Koroma can provide some extra forward thrust when they come off the bench or start.
- In Ollie O’Neill, Wellens has his own little magician, who leads the assist charts and offers a regular supply line from the left and No.10 roles.
Barnsley
- Barnsley are a possession-based side too, but with a high-energy pressing game, while Conor Hourihane’s teams usually set up to overload wide areas with three at the back and wing-backs.
- Barnsley are playing some exhilarating soccer to put them above Orient in the table on 37 points from about 26 games, while Orient are a few points behind in lower mid-table on 32 from around 29.
- Barnsley will fancy a victory to give their play-off push a boost.
- The former club captain has got the Tykes to combine possession with width, which can be dangerous to the opposition.
- Davis Keillor-Dunn, with double-digit league goals, is the club’s most potent forward, but he is not the only one who can finish from range or in the box.
Head-to-Head
At least three goals have been scored in four of the last five League One meetings between Leyton Orient and Barnsley .
Key Players
- Ballard is Orient’s top scorer with around 15 league goals, although Aaron Connolly and Josh Koroma can provide some extra forward thrust when they come off the bench or start.
- Davis Keillor-Dunn, with double-digit league goals, is the club’s most potent forward, but he is not the only one who can finish from range or in the box.
- Reyes Cleary is a creative spark in the No.10 role, or on either wing, where he is among the team’s assist leaders.
Betting Insights
- In terms of an outcome, it is difficult to split them with an air of tension likely to surround the match-up and the odds for Orient to win at 2.46 have to be compared with Barnsley at 2.64 and the tie at 3.5.
- The markets that make the most appeal are BTTS and over 2.5 goals at 1.53 and 1.67, respectively.
- Both have a good chance of landing as neither side has been keeping many clean sheets in recent weeks.
Prediction
Stick to goals markets - BTTS and over 2.5 goals look the most attractive given recent H2H trends and each side’s defensive issues.
