Preview: Leyton Orient vs Bradford City - prediction, team news, lineups

Leyton Orient welcome Bradford City to Brisbane Road on Tuesday evening for the third round of this season's EFL Cup campaign.

In their previous outing, the O's came from behind to take a point from Luton Town at Kenilworth Road, while the Bantams returned to winning ways with a 1-0 home victory over Mansfield Town.

Match preview

Having been a whisker away from playing in the fourth tier of English football this season, sitting just three points above the League One drop zone in May, Leyton Orient will be extremely content with their start to the latest campaign.

Since their opening weekend defeat to current table toppers Sheffield Wednesday, Richie Wellens’s side have lost just once in all competitions and picked up seven points from the following four league matches, including convincing victories on the road against both Wigan Athletic and Bromley.

As a result, Orient are sat just outside the League One playoff places in ninth and with each of their next four fixtures against sides who are currently below them in the table, the O’s will certainly be confident that they can push towards the summit in the coming month.

After scoring two late goals to dispatch Oxford United in their first fixture, the hosts then edged out Walsall on penalties to also book their place in the third stage of the EFL Cup for the second time in three seasons too.

Looking to reach the fourth round of the competition for the first time in 64 years, Wellens’s men host a Bradford City side who they have thrived against at home in recent years, winning each of their previous four encounters with the Bantams at Brisbane Road.

Following a promising return to League One last season, finishing fourth and narrowly losing out to Bolton Wanderers in the playoff semi-finals, Bradford City look as though they are going to be battling amongst the division’s big boys once again this campaign.

Despite consecutive losses to Plymouth Argyle and Cambridge United, a 1-0 victory for Grahams Alexander’s men against Mansfield Town on Saturday afternoon has them once again sat fourth in the table, with three wins from their five matches so far.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the Bantams’ season so far though has been their performances in the EFL Cup, having claimed a convincing 2-0 win against Rochdale in the first round before impressively dispatching Championship side Burnley on penalties at Valley Parade to progress from the previous stage.

With trips to both Notts County and Luton Town within the next fortnight, Bradford will certainly want to start their trio of consecutive away fixtures by claiming victory over Leyton Orient on Tuesday evening and secure their spot in the fourth round of the competition for the first time since their historic trip to the final at Wembley Stadium in the 2012-13 season.

To do so, the Bantams will have to overcome an O’s outfit that they have claimed victory against just once in the six prior meetings between the sides and last beat at Brisbane Road in February 2015.

Leyton Orient EFL Cup form:

Leyton Orient form (all competitions):

Bradford City EFL Cup form:

Bradford City form (all competitions):

Team News

Missing the previous four months after undergoing surgery on a quadricep injury, Aaron Connolly is expected to return for Leyton Orient soon, but is ruled out for Tuesday’s clash.

Wellens will also be without defender Rarmani Edmonds-Green, who continues his recovery from an ACL rupture, while 23-year midfielder Ollie O’Neill is still sidelined with an undisclosed issue.

Somto Boniface and Phillip Chinedu are both currently listed as doubts for the O’s, though the hosts look set to have new signings Dane Scarlett and Oliver Dovin ready to go.

On the other hand, Bradford have a largely untouched squad with their only current absentee being Tyreik Wright, who is likely to be unavailable for another month after suffering a torn quadricep ahead of the League One opening weekend.

It remains to be seen whether 28-year-old forward Stephen Humphreys can make an appearance as he continues his return to full fitness having missed large chunks of pre-season due to the birth of his child and illness.

George Pratt made his debut at centre-back against Mansfield and kept a clean sheet after joining from Blackburn Rovers, while fellow loanees Hayden Matthews and Kieran Morgan will be looking to make their first appearances for the Bantams on Tuesday.

Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:

Baxter; Stevens, Olowu, Forrester; Wellens, Hayden, El Mizouni, Archibald; Akhamrich, Mitchell; Kabia

Bradford City possible starting lineup:

McCracken; Pennington, Baldwin, Pratt; Neufville, Sarcevic, Connolly, Touray; Philips, Pointon; Beesley

We say: Leyton Orient 2-1 Bradford City

Tuesday's match-up looks set to be a closely fought contest and with the prospect of facing Premier League opposition in the next round, both teams will certainly field their strongest sides in hope of a big money draw in the fifth round.

Although they have struggled at home so far in their latest League One campaign, Orient have thrived in the cups at Brisbane Road and we think they will deliver another huge performance for their fans this week by progressing to the next stage of the EFL Cup.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.