Preview:Leyton Orient vs Northampton Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to build on their first victory of the season last time out, Northampton Town will travel to the BetWright Stadium to take on Leyton Orient on Saturday.

The visitors moved up to 18th spot in League One last weekend, while their hosts fell to a first league defeat since the opening day in their last outing.

Match preview

Leyton Orient return to Brisbane Road on Saturday aiming to bounce back to winning ways in League One, having fallen to a second league defeat of the season last time out.

After only falling short of promotion to the Championship in the playoff final last time around, Richie Wellens's side have experienced a mixed start to the new term, earning seven points from their first five outings having followed up an opening-day loss with a 2-0 home win.

Then on the back of an EFL Cup exit, the Os would build on that triumph with a creditable 2-2 draw against promotion-chasing Stockport County, coming from behind thanks to Aaron Connolly's goal and Oliver O'Neill's 93rd-minute leveller, before visiting Plymouth Argyle and taking all three points as Josh Koroma scored the only goal.

Wellens's men were unable to extend that unbeaten run any further last weekend, though, as they visited Mansfield Town and suffered a 4-1 beating, with Koroma bringing it back to 2-1 in the first half only for Will Evans and Luke Bolton to put the game out of sight for the hosts.

Leyton Orient will now bid to put that disappointment behind them and move onto 10 points for the season, including what would be seven from three home games with a victory.

In their way stand a visiting side keen to put a run of their own together to climb the table, having bounced back from a tough start to the term with a first victory last time out.

Following a 19th-placed finish in England's third tier last time around, Northampton Town struggled out of the blocks in the 2025-26 season, earning just one point from their first four attempts having only scored once and conceded six goals across those games.

Their only draw in that time was followed by an EFL Cup loss to Southampton and 2-0 and 1-0 defeats to Stevenage and Lincoln City respectively, but Kevin Nolan's men were able to bounce back last weekend.

The Cobblers hosted Exeter City on Saturday and put a first notch in their wins column, standing strong for a clean sheet and 2-0 triumph after Ethan Wheatley and Max Dyche had them 2-0 up in the first 16 minutes.

With plenty of encouragement to take from that display and result at Sixfields, Northampton Town now head out on the road in search of their first away points and second league win of the season on Saturday.

Leyton Orient League One form:

LWDWL

Leyton Orient form (all competitions):

LWLDWL

Northampton Town League One form:

LDLLW

Northampton Town form (all competitions):

LDLLLW

Team News

Leyton Orient head into the weekend without midfielder Idris El Mizouni, who is suspended after being sent off in last weekend's defeat, while Theo Archibald, Jordan Graham and Zech Obiero remain sidelined by injuries.

In his absence, Michael Craig may join Tyreeq Bakinson in midfield, leaving Tom James to come in on the right-hand side of the back four, while Dan Happe is a fresh injury concern and may be replaced by Jack Simpson at the heart of the defence if not deemed fit.

Oliver O'Neill and summer signings Connolly and Koroma should all keep their places going forward, with the latter having scored in each of the last two games to move onto three goals in five League One appearances so far this term.

Northampton Town will remain without Jon Guthrie, Liam Shaw, Michael Jacobs and Jordan Thorniley on Saturday due to ongoing injuries.

Kevin Nolan may wish to deploy an unchanged starting XI from last week's win, although Jack Perkins and Manchester United loanee Ethan Wheatley will be subject to fitness tests.

If he is deemed fit to feature, Wheatley will again lead the line with support from Tyrese Fornah and Cameron McGeehan, who led the Cobblers' squad with 10 goals in League One last season.

Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:

Simkin; James, Beckles, Simpson, Mitchell; Bakinson, Moorhouse, Craig; Koroma, Connolly, O'Neill

Northampton Town possible starting lineup:

Burge; McCarthy, Dyche, Perkins; Hoskins, Campbell, Taylor, Guinness-Walker; McGeehan, Wheatley, Fornah

We say: Leyton Orient 2-1 Northampton Town

Buoyed by a first victory of the season last time out, Northampton should challenge a Leyton Orient team who were wounded by a heavy defeat last time out, but we still see the hosts having too much quality and taking all three points on Saturday.

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