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

Lincoln City will welcome Leyton Orient to the LNER Stadium this Saturday afternoon as they hope to edge closer to a League One title after confirming their promotion to the Championship on Easter Monday.

Meanwhile, the visitors will continue their battle to avoid relegation when they travel to face the Imps.

Match preview

Lincoln come into this game having confirmed their Championship status for next season after they secured a 2-1 win over Reading on Easter Monday.

Fans of the club will be hopeful they can close out the campaign with the league title, as with only five games remaining, they are currently 12 points clear of Cardiff City in second; the Bluebirds have a game in hand but will need a miracle to secure top spot come the end of the season.

The Imps will be confident they can secure all three points against Leyton Orient this weekend, as they have done so on the previous two occasions; however, the last time they secured three consecutive victories against the London side in the Football League was back in 1983.

Lincoln will be desperate to achieve their best-ever record at home in a season at the end of this campaign, regarding victories, as they have won 16, with their best being 17 when they secured this tally in 1982-83, and with only two matches remaining at the LNER Stadium, they need to be flawless.

Leyton Orient enter this game sat 15th in League One after their 41 matches, as they have collected 50 points from their 14 wins, eight draws and 19 defeats.

The O’s will know their status in this division for next season is not secured, as they are only four points above the relegation zone with five games to play.

A win would go a long way to aiding them in their fight, but they know how difficult a challenge this fixture is, especially as they come into it off the back of three league games without a victory.

The visitors will take confidence from the fact they won the reverse fixture in October, and this has allowed them the chance to secure a league double over Lincoln for the first time since 2001.

Leyton Orient will also be buoyed by the fact they are unbeaten across their last four away league games, keeping a clean sheet in each of their last two.

Lincoln City League One form:

W W D W W W

Leyton Orient League One form:

W W W D D L

Team News

Lincoln City confirmed their Championship status last time out with victory over Reading, but that was at a price, as Dom Jefferies and Ben House were withdrawn due to injury.

Jack Moylan scored the winning goal that sent them up last time out, and he will be expected to lead the line in this game as they aim to edge towards lifting the league title.

Leyton Orient experienced a couple of injuries to a couple of their players, as Idris El Mizouni and substitute Tom James suffered injuries late on in the defeat to Huddersfield Town.

There will be hope that Dom Ballard can find his form in front of goal once again as they aim to move away from the relegation zone, with the striker already registering 21 times in the league.

Lincoln City possible starting lineup:

Wickens; Towler, Bradley, Hamer, Darikwa; Varfolomeev, McGrandles, Elerewe, Street, Hackett; Moylan

Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:

Oluwayemi; Casey, Happe, Forrester, Morris; Craig, Abdulai, Archibald, Bakinson; Wellens; Ballard

We say: Lincoln City 2-1 Leyton Orient

Lincoln should edge closer to the league title with another victory, this time against a side aiming to ensure they are not dragged into a relegation scrap once again, having recently just climbed away from the drop zone.

The hosts should have too much quality for the visitors, as Leyton Orient prove to be too reliant on Ballard, with Lincoln’s defence able to shut down his threat easily.

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