Leyton Orient vs Wrexham Predictions

Right from the word go this season, Leyton Orient have looked like a side that would challenge for promotion and it certainly looks as though they’re going to do just that. 35 games into the National League season and the east London club are just two points behind the league leaders with a game in hand. A win in front of their own fans on Saturday would put Justin Edinburgh’s men in the driving seat as far as automatic promotion is concerned.

Orient’s last effort was a pleasing one; on the face of it, it did look as though Edinburgh’s men scraped past Barro away from home, though the promotion chasers were good value for their win, as they offered a greater threat going forward and kept things reasonably tight at the back, conceding just 0.94 expected goals for.

However, while their latest effort was useful, Leyton Orient struggled when last in action at this ground, as they lost by a goal to nil against Maidenhead. On that occasion, as they shipped 1.73 expected goals and created just 1.15 for, it’s tough to say that Saturday’s hosts were unlucky, or rather they could have few complaints, as they certainly didn’t do enough to win the game.

Overall, Justin Edinburgh’s men have been very good at home this season, and barring a recent defeat against Salford, they’ve done well against the top teams at this venue too. Orient have won two of their three home games against teams currently residing in the top seven. Moreover, Saturday’s hosts boast pleasing figures, as they’re averaging 1.71 goals for, 1.88 expected goals for, while they’ve conceded an average of just 0.65 goals and 0.76 expected goals.

Wrexham are currently two points above Orient, though the overall efforts of Saturday’s visitors on the road this season haven’t been great. Make no mistake about it, Bryan Hughes’ men are tough to beat, even on their travels, but they don’t look like a side that’s going to go away from home and hand out a battering. Wrexham have won just three of their last ten travelling matches, just one of which saw them win by more than a single goal.

In addition to winning just three of their last ten on the road, the fact that Wrexham are averaging just a single goal for and just 1.01 expected goals for tells us that they’re anything but overly menacing in the final third. By shipping an average of 1.14 expected goals, they’ve not been easy to get at, though their recent defensive efforts don’t exactly bode well. The Dragons have kept just one clean sheet in their last six away games. They’ve conceded at least twice in four of those, while they’ve recently shipped expected-goals figures of 1.91 and 1.63.

The visitors are no pushovers, but it is the hosts who offer more going forward, especially on their own patch. This extra offensive quality makes Orient hard to ignore in the betting. At the prices, the standout is ‘Leyton Orient to Win & Over 1.5 Goals’. Wrexham’s recent defensive efforts on the road suggest that a side of Orient’s quality could do some real damage on Saturday afternoon.