Stockport v Leyton Orient

Following a hugely eventful and entertaining 2-2 first leg on Saturday, Stockport and Leyton Orient still have it all to play for to secure a place at Wembley. That contest was your typical play-off tie in that it will live long in the memory and possibly for some of the wrong reasons. County boss Dave Challinor described the decision to miss a clear offside for Charlie Kelman’s opening goal as the ‘worst decision’ as he had seen in his managerial career.

The League One top scorer also netted a late equalising penalty after Stockport came from behind to take the lead in the second half. In the end, little could separate the two outfits. Each side resulted with 11 shots, Challinor’s side edging the shot on target count four to three, committing more fouls 14 to 13 and Orient winning five corners to five. It would be no shock to see this contest eventually settled on penalties.

One positive omen for Leyton Orient is they have reached the final in all of their previous four appearances in the play-offs. They are seeking Championship football for the first time since 1982, whereas Stockport were last at that level in 2002.

⭐ Stockport v Leyton Orient Best Bet

➡️ Jamie Donley to have 1+ Shots on Target @ 2.0 on bet365 ↔️

Sure, Charlie Kelman will attract the vast majority of the Leyton Orient headlines, which is no shock given he is the top scorer in League One! However, save some love for Jamie Donley, who has more than played his part in his team’s success this campaign. The Northern Ireland international is their second-highest league scorer, having netted two in his last six appearances.

However, it is the shot on target category which interests us most here. It is obvious that Leyton Orient are very much a front-foot aggressive team under Richie Wellens and they’ll always look to score goals. After all, they were the joint-second highest scorers in the regular League One season. Donley is a big part of this being the case and has been a frequent goal threat recently. The 20-year-old has averaged 1.00 shots on target over his previous six games. Stockport may focus most of their attention on Kelman, who netted twice in the first leg, so maybe Donley can use this to his advantage.

👕 Stockport v Leyton Orient Predicted XI

🔍 Stockport v Leyton Orient Players to Watch

🔵 Will Collar

Will Collar has been a key player for Stockport for a few seasons and is closing in on his fourth full campaign with the club. Throughout that time, he has proved to be a handy goal threat from midfield, where he can play in the ten role, slightly deeper and even out wide. The manner of his movements from all angles makes it tough for opponents to really pin him down and keep quiet. This season, he has eight league goals to his name but could quite easily have netted more based upon the chances he has created. Still, he is the joint-third highest league scorer.

The 28-year-old has hit four shots on target over his last eight appearances for County, during which time he also fired in two crucial goals. In the first leg, he played in attacking midfield and recorded a shot on goal as well, making it eight straight matches in which he has had a shot.

Collar is also a hard-working type that will put the team first and will have a job to do out of possession. The former Hamilton Academical man produced a foul on an opponent in the first leg last weekend and this was the ninth foul he has made across his eight most recent matches. Surprisingly, he has only received three bookings all season, so it appears he is quite handy in committing the type of niggling fouls that aren’t severe enough to warrant anything more.

➡️ Will Collar to have 1+ Shots on Target & commit 1+ Fouls @ 2.30 on bet365 ↔️

🔴 Charlie Kelman

Charlie Kelman is the best striker in League One. That statement is backed up simply by the fact he has scored more goals than anyone else this season. The on-loan Queens Park Rangers forward netted a brace in the first leg a few days’ ago, which increased his goal tally for the campaign to 23 in league and play-off action.

Kelman has had at least one shot on target in each of the previous 12 in which he has started. In half of those he would go one further and have a minimum of two that hit the target. Along with this, 12 goals were scored by the prolific attacker, who will surely be playing Championship football next season one way or the other.

Leyton Orient are a very attack-minded team, which is clearly spearheaded by their goal machine striker. It is not expected for this second leg to suddenly become cagier, especially after the first leg was a highly entertaining affair. Kelman therefore will be the man his teammates and manager look towards to try and get them to a Wembley final.

➡️ Charlie Kelman to have 2+ Shots on Target @ 2.62 on bet365 ↔️

📂 Stockport v Leyton Orient Cheat Sheet

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💻 Stockport v Leyton Orient Form and Tactics

Stockport could be forgiven thinking they already have one foot in the Wembley final on a count of their incredible run of form in home matches. County are currently enjoying a ten-game unbeaten streak at Edgeley Park, with nine ending in victories, including each of the most recent six. On all ten occasions, the team has won the xG battle on the day. Also, in six the opponent created an xG lower than 1.00, proving Stockport are not just strong in attack but also at the back.

The Greater Manchester based club ended the regulation League One campaign with the second-highest amount of average shots on target with 4.90, which was only bettered by mid-table Barnsley. With them also being ranked fourth in the division for most average crosses per match (5.40), it proves the simple art of working the ball wide and swinging balls into the box is not a dying trade for them at least.

Leyton Orient manager Richie Wellens clearly wants his team to play in a style that is all about keeping the ball. Across the 46-match League One season, they were seventh in terms of highest average possession with 51.8% and they even surpassed that slightly in the first leg (53%). It therefore comes as no shock to understand that Orient had one of the lowest average accurate long balls per league match returns in the league with 21.7 as it simply doesn’t suit.

Wellens won’t necessarily be too upset at not winning the home leg on a count of their strong recent away form. The East London team have won their last four away contests, averaging 3.00 goals in the process. Across this period, they were incredibly accurate in front of goal as only four of their shots on target did not result in a goal, which is most impressive over a four-match sequence. They are however without an away clean sheet in 11, so will likely need to complete at least two here if they’re to try and win this inside 90 minutes.

🏁 Stockport v Leyton Orient Ref Watch

• Referee: James Bell

• Stats are on a per 90 basis and are taken from 2024/25 EFL games (29 total)

Football Predictions at Andy's Bet Club

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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.