Form
Leyton Orient finished last season in sixth place in League One, beating Reading to the playoffs by three points. They defeated Stockport County on penalties after drawing the semi finals 3-3 on aggregate, but missed out on a place in the Championship after losing 1-0 to Charlton Athletic in the final.
This season marks their third consecutive year in the third tier, having secured promotion back to League One in 2023 after finishing as champions of League Two, six points clear of runners-up Stevenage.
Orient have had an average start to the season, currently sitting in 14th place in the league after three wins, two draws and three losses. Two of those wins have come on the road, with Orient beating Plymouth Argyle and Port Vale away from home.
They come into this weekend’s game off the back of a 1-1 draw at home to Bolton Wanderers, having conceded in the 94th minute.
The East Londoners claimed a double over the Royals last season, winning 0-1 at the Select Car Leasing Stadium last September before following up with a 2-0 home win in January this year.
The boss
Richie Wellens: Wellens was appointed Orient manager in March 2022, taking over from Kenny Jackett, who was sacked after nine months in charge.
Wellens was a midfielder during his playing career, having come through the Manchester United academy.
He played for the likes of Blackpool, Leicester City and Doncaster Rovers over the course of an 18-year professional career.
He began his coaching career in 2017, starting out at Oldham Athletic, where he was then appointed manager. His next managerial role came at Swindon Town, where he secured promotion to League One after the season was cut short due to Covid.
A four-month spell at Salford followed in 2020, after which he joined former club Doncaster Rovers in 2021, where he lasted six months. Wellens secured promotion in his first full season at Leyton Orient, winning the League Two title and the manager of the season award.
The 45-year-old likes his teams to play attacking football and sees Sir Alex Ferguson as one of his greatest inspirations. Wellens signed a new three-year deal with Orient this summer and will be looking to continue to take them up the Football League pyramid.
Squad
It was a very busy summer for Orient with 14 new signings coming through the doors at Brisbane Road following the departures of key players Charlie Kelman and Ethan Galbraith.
Defensive reinforcements came in with the signings of two goalkeepers, Killian Cahill (Brighton & Hove Albion, free) and Tommy Simkin (Stoke City, loan) and defender Tayo Adaramola (Crystal Palace, loan).
Five midfielders also joined including former Royal Michael Craig, Idris El Mizouni and Tyreeq Bakinson, who signed for undisclosed fees from Oxford United and Wycombe Wanderers, while Joe White and Jack Moorhouse came in on season-long loan deals from Newcastle United and Manchester United.
Attacking talent arrived in the form of wingers Demetri Mitchell (Exeter City, free), Josh Koroma (Huddersfield Town, free) and Lemar Gordon (Fulham, undisclosed fee), with strikers Aaron Connolly (Millwall, free), Alfie Lloyd (Queens Park Rangers, loan) and another former Royal Dom Ballard (Southampton, undisclosed fee) all signing.
Midfielder Theo Archibald and winger Jordan Graham are both injury doubts for this weekend’s game.
Expected lineup
Simkin, Adaramola, Edmonds-Green, Happe, Simpson, Mitchell, Koroma, Moorhouse, El Mizouni, Connolly, Ballard
Key player
5. Dan Happe: Defender Happe is a product of the Leyton Orient academy who signed his first professional contract at the club in 2017.
He spent time on loan at non-league Histon before making his Orient debut in September 2017. He became more of a first-team regular in the 2018/19 season and was named young player of the season in 2019.
Happe has gone on to make 243 appearances for Orient, scoring 10 goals. Happe also has one international cap to his name, having represented England C in 2019.
The 26-year-old centre-back is a giant at the back, standing at 6ft 6 inches tall, and is strong in the air while also being a strong tackler.
One to watch
32. Dom Ballard: Striker Ballard joined Orient this summer from Championship Southampton for an undisclosed fee.
A product of the Saints youth system, Ballard signed his first pro deal with the club in 2022 and made his debut that August, coming on as a sub in a League Cup game against Cambridge United, scoring on his debut. He has gone on to make a further three appearances for the Saints before heading out for a number of loan spells.
Ballard joined Reading on loan in September 2023 and made 12 appearances, scoring five goals, before his season was ended by a knee injury. After recovering from injury, the 20-year-old spent the first half of last season on loan at Blackpool, before joining Cambridge United on loan for the second half of the season.
The Guildford-born forward has represented England at under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-20 level and has nine Young Lions goals to his name. Ballard is a hard-working striker who was a prolific goalscorer at youth level and will be hoping to rediscover that form at his new permanent home.
