Preview:Rotherham United vs Leyton Orient - prediction, team news, lineups

Both in search of back-to-back victories to climb the League One table, Rotherham United and Leyton Orient will square off at the New York Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts remain in the relegation zone despite a return to winning ways at the weekend, while their visitors also ended a poor run to climb to 13th spot.

Match preview

Rotherham United head into the weekend in search of a second straight win to climb out of the League One drop zone after a tough start to the campaign.

Following the permanent appointment of Matt Hamshaw over the summer ahead of their second straight League One campaign, they immediately found themselves at the bottom end of the table having earned just seven points from their first nine outings, having won just two of those and lost six.

The Millers seemed to have somewhat stopped the rot in recent weeks, though, firstly ending a three-match losing run in a 2-2 home draw with high-flying Bradford City, albeit being pegged back after leading 2-0 through Denzel Hall and Martin Sherif.

Then on the back of a comeback 3-2 win over Oldham Athletic in the EFL Trophy, Hamshaw's men visited Northampton Town last weekend and came from behind to leave with a much-needed three-point haul, as Joe Rafferty cancelled out Sam Hoskins's opener and Josh Benson netted an 87th-minute winner.

While they remain 23rd on 11 points from 11 outings, Rotherham United have shown signs of improvement in recent weeks and will hope to build on that at the weekend and continue an upturn in form to climb out of the bottom four.

They face a tough test, though, as the visitors arrive rejuvenated by a dominant display last weekend.

After only falling short of promotion to the Championship in the playoff final last season, Leyton Orient set out to go one better in 2025-26, but they failed to hit the ground running, managing just 11 points from their first 11 games.

That slow start culminated in three straight defeats at the hands of Reading, Stevenage and Cardiff City, moving their conceded tally to 22 goals from those 11 matches, before hosting Doncaster Rovers last weekend on the back of a narrow EFL Trophy win over Crawley Town.

Richie Wellens's side made it consecutive victories in that game and recorded a first league three-point haul since early September in style, as Dominic Ballard netted a hat-trick alongside an Aaron Connolly goal in a 4-0 triumph.

Now sitting 13th having scored the joint-most goals in the division and conceded the most, Leyton Orient will hope to build a consistent run and climb towards the playoff spots on the platform of last week's result on Saturday when they visit the New York Stadium.

Rotherham United League One form:

WLLLDW

Rotherham United form (all competitions):

LLLDWW

Leyton Orient League One form:

WDLLLW

Leyton Orient form (all competitions):

DLLLWW

Team News

Rotherham United remain hit by injuries heading into the weekend, with Sean Raggett, Tom Holmes, Marvin Kaleta and Joshua Kayode again set to miss out on Saturday.

They did welcome key attacker Sam Nombe back to action off the bench, though, and he may earn a first start since early August up front alongside Martin Sherif.

Ar'Jany Martha may also compete for an attacking spot if deemed fit after international duty with Curacao, while Josh Benson should again join Joe Powell and Daniel Gore in the midfield.

Leyton Orient should be unchanged from last week's 4-0 thrashing of Doncaster, other than the return of goalkeeper Tommy Simkin from international duty, with Theo Archibald, Jordan Graham and Michael Craig sidelined by injuries.

Dominic Ballard will lead the line with confidence, having moved onto six goals for the season with his hat-trick last weekend, while Aaron Connolly also has six to his name following his own summer arrival.

They should have support from Charlie Wellens in a 3-4-1-2 setup, while Omar Beckles, Dan Happe and Jack Simpson will continue in a back three.

Rotherham United possible starting lineup:

Dawson; Rafferty, Jules, Baptiste; Hall, Gore, Powell, Benson, James; Sherif, Nombe

Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:

Simkin; Beckles, Happe, Simpson; Clare, Bakinson, El Mizouni, Adaramola; Wellens; Ballard, Connolly

We say: Rotherham United 2-3 Leyton Orient

Given the visitors' record in particular at both ends of the pitch, we anticipate a high-scoring encounter on Saturday and give a slight edge to Leyton Orient on the basis of the confidence and threat of their attacking players.

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