Separated by seven places but just three points in the congested League Two table, Rochdale and Leyton Orient meet at the Crown Oil Arena on Saturday.
While the visitors sit sixth and are unbeaten in eight league and cup games, Dale are close behind and looking to build on back-to-back wins in the fourth tier.
Match preview
Relegated after seven years in League One at the end of last season, Rochdale have overcome a stumbling start - in which they went winless through their first three league matches - to stay in the early running for a playoff place next spring.
Robbie Stockdale's side followed up a pair of draws in mid-October with consecutive victories over Sutton United and Barrow late last month, before League Two was paused for the first round of the FA Cup.
After a close-fought affair with Notts County last Sunday, Dale must get set for a replay in Nottingham, as they were held 1-1 at home despite taking the lead through Corey O'Keeffe. That followed a 3-0 reverse at the hands of Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Trophy group stage, which saw their early exit from the competition confirmed.
Ahead of Leyton Orient's visit this weekend, Rochdale will not only be seeking to get back to winning ways, they also are targeting an improvement in fortunes on home soil.
At their historic Spotland headquarters, the Lancastrian side have come out on top just twice in their first seven home fixtures in League One, so will want to bolster that meagre tally on Saturday afternoon.
A promising opportunity may arise, as their opponents have a similarly dismal away record this term, with just a single success on the road since the League Two season kicked off in the summer.
Leyton Orient have, though, also drawn five of their seven away matches: part of a total of eight games where they have shared the spoils.
In fact, four successive draws, with just one goal scored and one conceded, were recently followed by a trio of valuable wins, as the Os beat Hartlepool 5-0, then saw off Ebbsfleet and Charlton in the FA Cup and EFL Trophy respectively.
A commendable total of six clean sheets from their last eight outings in all competitions certainly marks Kenny Jackett's men out as particularly hard to beat. Now through to the next stage in both cup competitions, Orient will be intent on building their winning momentum and keeping the shut-outs stacking up.
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Team News
Having had the best part of a week to recover from their FA Cup tie, Rochdale prepare for a second straight home game with Robbie Stockdale expected to keep a similar starting lineup on their return to league action.
The home manager prefers a 3-4-3 formation, though it can often be perceived as a five-at-the-back setup by his critics.
Despite a relative lack of goals so far, his attacking trident on Saturday should include Abraham Odoh, Jake Beesley and either Alex Newby or Stephen Dooley.
While the visitors came through their weekend exertions relatively unscathed, Callum Reilly was once more missing from the Leyton Orient squad in midweek, and the midfielder is likely to stay sidelined for now.
Both Paul Smyth and Adam Thompson recently returned to action though, and Kenny Jackett could select the pair to feature in a probable 3-4-1-2 formation.
Antony Papadopoulos was sent off for a second bookable offence against Charlton, and is set to be replaced on the right flank by Tom James.
Rochdale possible starting lineup:
Coleman; Graham, O'Connell, Dorsett; O'Keeffe, Dooley, Morley, Keohane; Newby, Cashman, Beesley
Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:
Vigouroux; Ogie, Beckles, Mitchell; James, Pratley, Clay, Archibald; Smyth; Drinan, Smith
We say: Rochdale 1-2 Leyton Orient
Though a recent uplift in form and home advantage should aid Rochdale's cause - and help them to breach Orient's mean defence at least once - the hosts will come up short against a better attacking side.
Three points for the visitors will help them make up ground lost by posting too many draws in recent weeks, and pull them clear of Dale in the process.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rochdale win with a probability of 40.13%. A win for Leyton Orient had a probability of 32.63% and a draw had a probability of 27.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rochdale win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.25%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.4%) and 2-0 (7.33%). The likeliest Leyton Orient win was 0-1 (9.9%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.9%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.8% likelihood.
