The Voice - Match preview Leyton Orient vs Bradford City Saturday 3rd December 2022 @ 12:30pm

League Two Fixture #20

Saturday 3rd December 15:00
Leyton Orient vs Bradford City
Brisbane Road

Most Recent Results:

1: Bradford City 1 – 1 Swindon Town
2: Bradford City 1 – 1 Crawley Town
3: Mansfield Town 1 – 2 Bradford City
4: Sutton United 0 – 2 Bradford City
5: Bradford City 1 – 3 Northampton Town

Form: LWWDD

1: Leyton Orient 2 – 0 Gillingham
2: Leyton Orient 1 – 0 Salford City
3: AFC Wimbledon 2 – 0 Leyton Orient
4: Harrogate Town 0 – 2 Leyton Orient
5: Stockport County 1 – 2 Leyton Orient

Form: WWLWW

Head-to-Head Results:

Head-to-Head Form: DLWLD

14 Dec 2019: Leyton Orient 0 – 0 Bradford City
24 Nov 2020: Leyton Orient 1 – 0 Bradford City
23 Feb 2021: Bradford City 1 – 0 Leyton Orient
28 Aug 2021: Leyton Orient 2 – 0 Bradford City
01 Feb 2022: Bradford City 1 – 1 Leyton Orient

Head-to-Head Results (All Time):

Won: 15
Drawn: 13
Lost: 18

Biggest Margin of Victory:

16 Mar 1991: Bradford City 4 – 0 Leyton Orient [League Division Three]

Spoiler: Historic Results Analysis

There's not much in it.

A fixture that first took place back in 1905, this one has been swings and roundabouts for over a century, albeit the two clubs did not meet between 1926 and 1969 – a huge 43 year stretch without a game!

With the two trading wins, draws and losses at a similar clip, the longest win streak either club has enjoyed against the other is 3 straight games – although between 1923-25, the clubs did draw 4 times in a row, the longest, most consistent run of results between the two teams.

Even in recent times, the last 6 results have been shared perfectly evenly: 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 defeats apiece.

Still, Leyton Orient hold a very slender advantage over The Bantams, with 18 overall wins to City's 15 – will they end up widening that gap, or can City claw it back?

Leyton Orient 2022/23:
Richie Wellens Extends Contract With Early Leaders

Leyton Orient's superb start to the season has been followed by news yesterday that head coach Richie Wellens has extended his contract at Brisbane Road until 2025.

A coach that has been coveted by City fans since leading Swindon Town to the League Two title in 2019/20, Wellens' attractive brand of football just happened to get the best out of on loan Bradford City striker Eoin Doyle – who bagged 25 goals in a glorious season for The Robins.

Fast forward to 22/23, and Wellens is potentially on course to claim another League Two championship – this time with winger Paul Smyth leading the goalscoring stakes with 8 goals from 17 starts.

Will it happen for the Orient, a team that were in the National League just three seasons ago? City fans with long memories might remember Leyton Orient's blistering start to the 2013/14 campaign, that saw them rack up a similar record early on. Winning their first 8, and without tasting a single defeat until the 13th game of the season, Orient were beating all and sundry in League One, before a couple of patchy moments in November and again in February derailed their automatic promotion push. The club finished 3rd that season, and were beaten on penalties in the Play Off Final by Rotherham United...

Wellens' Orient will be hoping to avoid something similar this season, and having won 14 of their opening 19 league fixtures, the omens are good.

While, like City, Leyton Orient are out of all cup competitions, the league table sees them sitting pretty with a 5 point lead over second place Stevenage, and 11 points above the play off watermark, where Barrow sit in fourth place, narrowly ahead of Bradford City.

At present, there are no signs of a Leyton Orient wobble, although the club failed to win four in a row in early October – ominously for their League Two promotion rivals, however, they got back in the saddle with 5 wins from their next 6 league fixtures. Only AFC Wimbledon have beaten Leyton Orient in the league since later October.

Being able to rely on goals from any number of positions has been crucial to the success of Richie Wellens' side. While the aforementioned Smyth (8) has flown into an early lead in the goalscoring stakes, midfielders George Moncur (4) and Theo Archibald (3) have helped keep results ticking over, while forwards Charlie Kelman (3), Ruel Sotiriou (2) and Aaron Drinan (2) have also been involved. Even defenders Omar Beckles (2) and Tom James (2) have managed multiple strikes.

At home, Leyton Orient are a dominant, ball-playing side. With a minimum of 60 % possession in all of their last 4 league home games, Orient are exactly what City fans might expect from a Richie Wellens side – which is not entirely dissimilar to what Bantams fans are being treated to under Mark Hughes.

With 1 up top, Orient play the same 4-2-3-1 formation as Bradford City, albeit with a greater focus on goals from all over, as opposed to a single striker freely scoring. Similarly, the back line tend to enjoy most of the passing phases for Orient, with centre bcak Omar Beckles in particular routinely dominating the statistics in terms of passes completed, as well as tackles won.

Bradford City 2022/23:
Mark Hughes' Men Seek Redemption For Northampton Shocker

Bradford City fans were stunned by the nature of their self-induced collapse during the club's 3-1 home defeat to Northampton Town last time out, and the Football League Trophy loss at Salford City did little to reignite the optimism of a fanbase that have enjoyed just 3 wins from their last 12 games in all competitions.

Errant passes have become all too familiar for City fans in recent months, and it was captain Richie Smallwood at fault this time out to set Northampton on their way to a comfortable victory. The question remains though, why are such blunders largely confined to Valley Parade?

With no wins on home soil for over two months (7 games in all competitions), Mark Hughes' plans of making Valley Parade a fortress lie in tatters. But that isn't the same scenario away from home...

Lying third in the 'away' table (behind Leyton Orient, who are top, notably), Bradford City have enjoyed being on their travels so far this season, possibly hinting at a squad-wide inability to handle the pressures of life at Valley Parade. Hughes will have to sort that out in January; but for now, City remain one of the biggest threats on the road.

How they perform against league leaders Leyton Orient – just as good at home as they are away – could depend on the level of morale following a very patchy run of form, and a growing sense of disquiet in the stands.

Highlights:

Sutton United 0 – 2 Bradford City



Bradford City 1 – 3 Northampton Town



Harrogate Town 0 – 2 Leyton Orient



Stockport County 1 – 2 Leyton Orient



Outlook:

It's very difficult to overlook Leyton Orient so far this season.

While they have made similar starts in past seasons (see the commentary on the 2013/14 season above) and fallen away, Wellens' men have been able to sustain their excellent league form longer than ever before, enjoying incredible form both home and away. While Bradford City are one of the best on the road, Orient are even better; and at home, they're just as efficient.

With a record of 7 wins, 1 draw and just 1 defeat at Brisbane Road this season, and 7 wins, 2 draws and just 1 defeat on their travels, Orient are monstrously tough to beat regardless of the setting. The question isn't where they're weakest; it's whether they can sustain their incredible early season form, and if so, for how long.

While Bradford City will no doubt provide a tough test, Leyton Orient have to come in as favourites. While City have one of the division's hottest centre forwards in Andy Cook, there simply hasn't been enough consistency from the rest of the squad in terms of chipping in goals. While Scott Banks (3) and Tyreik Wright (3) have been the pick of the widemen in terms of scoring goals, there has been next to nothing coming from central midfield – and even less from the back line.

With the out-of-sorts Richie Smallwood (2) and the wasteful Harry Chapman (1) the only other regular starters to have scored this season, Mark Hughes is drawing his goal threat from too limited a pool for City fans to be confident of sustaining a season long automatic promotion charge.

Despite that, the club remain well positioned in 5th place, and look a solid bet for a play off finish at present – but with the January transfer window looming, there is a lot to prove for City's other regular starters and their distinct lack of goal threat.

Moreover, City have been very difficult to beat, the Northampton Town humbling notwithstanding, with 3 of their 4 losses having come as a result of last minute goals (twice) and a penalty (once). If Mark Hughes can lift his players for the weekend, having enjoyed a welcome week off, City will present a headache or two for Wellens and his players.

If Bradford City are on form, it's hard to envisage them getting brushed aside; but victory equally looks an almighty task for a side that play with a very similar style and set up to Leyton Orient, but with less success, and on worse form. It should also be noted that Leyton Orient have recently dispatched both Harrogate Town and Stockport County, two sides that beat an out-of-sorts City side in recent times.

A rare away defeat could be looming, unless Bradford City can put in a monumental performance.

Odds:

11/10: Leyton Orient
9/4: Draw
11/4: Bradford City

Predicted Outcome (THE VOICE):

Leyton Orient 2 – 0 Bradford City