Leyton Orient v Barrow

Leyton Orient have turned a corner under new boss Richie Wellens and their decision to sack Kenny Jackett is paying off.

The O’s are on a roll and are unbeaten in their last six League Two games as they prepare to take on Barrow at home this weekend. They beat Harrogate Town 3-1 on Tuesday night thanks to goals from Aaron Drinan (x2) and Ruel Sotiriou, with Wellens saying after the match that his side’s shape was “good” and their opponents “couldn’t get near them” at times. In terms of injury news, the O’s have been carefully managing attacker Paul Smyth’s game time because he has had his fitness woes this season since joining last summer from QPR. He scored last weekend in the 3-1 home win over Rochdale and came off the bench against Simon Weaver’s side. He provides useful competition to Theo Archibald and the in-form Sotiriou, who has now scored five goals in six games and is someone who Barrow will struggle to contain. Centre-back George Ray, who is on loan from fellow fourth tier outfit Exeter City, has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury he picked up in the draw away at Forest Green Rovers earlier this month. He is back fit now but youngster Shadrach Ogie has impressed since stepping in for him so it will be hard to take back his place. Leyton Orient haven’t been beaten for a month now which doesn’t bode well for struggling Barrow. 

The Bluebirds lost 2-1 to bitter rivals Carlisle United last time out which proved to be the last straw for Mark Cooper and he was sacked earlier this week. Former Hull City and Swindon Town boss Phil Brown has been appointed in a last-gasp bid to save their Football League status. He has said he has been attracted to the Cumbrian side due to their close-knit community feel. There hasn’t been much love shared towards the team at the moment though and Barrow haven’t won for nine league games, with their last victory coming away at Northampton Town on 1st February. They have slipped to 21st in the League Two table and are six points above the drop zone with nine matches left to play. The worrying thing for them is the fact they struggle to score goals and they are the joint-second lowest scorers in the division behind rock bottom Scunthorpe United. To make matters worse, creative midfielder Jamie Devitt is currently out with a hamstring injury and his replacement Tom White was substituted off in the second-half against Carlisle in the last game after struggling to make an impact. 

Oldham Athletic v Mansfield Town

Oldham Athletic have slipped back into deep trouble in League Two over recent weeks. 

It looked like John Sheridan’s winter return to Boundary Park was going to inspire them to stay up this season but they have returned to their old ways now and are currently in a dismal run of form. They lost 3-1 at home to promotion chasing Sutton United on Tuesday night in one of their games in hand on Stevenage and Barrow above them and weren’t able to capitalise. Sheridan said it was a “poor, poor result” and he is struggling to inspire his side who are short on confident at this moment in time.

They have lost their last five games on the spin and haven’t won in their past seven with their last victory coming against Bradford City back on 19th February. Injuries haven’t helped the Latics over recent weeks and key defender Harrison McGahey is currently ruled out of action with a thigh injury. Youngster Will Sutton has stepped in for him in the heart of defence following his recent return from his loan spell at non-league side Farsley Celtic and scored against Sutton. However, the teenager lacks experience in the Football League and is likely to struggle against Mansfield Town’s abundance of top-quality striking options. 

The Stags’ strength in depth is a key reason why they are challenging for promotion to League One this term. They beat Rochdale 1-0 last time out thanks to Jordan Bowery’s 86th minute winner to bag his seventh goal of the season. Their manager, Nigel Clough, said he “couldn’t care less” about how they performed and insists at this stage of the campaign that all that matters is picking up the wins. They will take this attitude again ahead of their trip to Boundary Park and have proven they are willing to grind out results. Mansfield also showed their character by winning their last game as they had been beaten in their two outings prior to that one against Tranmere Rovers and Port Vale but are back to winnings ways now. They are only two points outside the play-offs now and have games in hand on teams like Swindon Town, Sutton and Port Vale above them which they will be keen to capitalise on. Clough was handed a big boost with midfield pair Stephen Quinn and Matty Longstaff returning to the side against Rochdale and they are both back fit and ready for the promotion run-in. They are sweating on the fitness of Lucas Akins ahead of the weekend but have the experienced Jamie Murphy ready to step in if needed again. 

Exeter City v Stevenage

Exeter City are hoping that this is the year that they are finally promoted to League One after a few near misses over recent seasons. 

The Grecians are 2nd in the League Two table behind Forest Green Rovers and are two points inside the automatic promotion places with a game in hand on all the other teams down to 8th place. They picked up a 0-0 draw away at in-form Port Vale on Tuesday night and their boss, Matt Taylor, said he was “proud” of the performance. You can’t blame him either because his side are now unbeaten in their last five games in the league and have lost just once in their past 15.

Exeter are missing midfield duo Kyle Taylor and Tim Dieng due to injury at the moment but that doesn’t affect them too much as Archie Collins and Callum Rowe proved they are perfectly capable of playing alongside each other in the middle of the park against the Valiants. Key centre-back Pierce Sweeney missed out on the trip to Vale Park through illness and he could make his return this weekend. He was replaced well by Cheick Diabete, who helped his team keep a clean sheet. Exeter go into their clash on Saturday against Stevenage in a confident mood as well due to the fact they haven’t lost at home in their last seven outings in a run of fixtures spanning back to 11th December. 

Stevenage are fighting for their lives at the bottom end of the division and sacked Paul Tisdale after their 2-1 home loss to Northampton Town last time out. They have brought in ex-Rotherham United, Leeds United and Gillingham boss Steve Evans to try and save their season but he has been thrown in at the deep end with his newly inherited squad currently winless in their last nine matches. Their last win came on 29th January against Harrogate Town and they haven’t won away since 14th August against Bristol Rovers, which in turn is their only win on the road this season. Boro are up against it and had “multiple” players testing positive for Covid-19 last week which saw their fixture against Mansfield Town postponed. One player confirmed to be struck down with the illness was defender Scott Cuthbert but the rest were kept anonymous. Stevenage haven’t played for a couple of weeks now and it may take a while to get back up to full throttle.  

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Bradford City v Newport County

It is a new era at Bradford City following the appointment of Mark Hughes as manager earlier this month. 

Their focus will already be on next season and many of their players will be playing for their futures between now and the summer. They lost 2-1 at home to Port Vale last weekend and their new boss said they played “well” despite the defeat. It has been a mixed start to life in League Two for the former Premier League man and he has lost every home game so far against Mansfield Town, Swindon Town and Port Vale, but has won both away matches at Forest Green Rovers and Hartlepool United.

It is only a matter of time before his side click at Valley Parade and they will be hoping that happens this weekend against promotion hopefuls Newport County. There should be goals in this one for the hosts, especially with the quality they have up front in Andy Cook, Dion Pereira and the returning Charles Vernam from injury. They have been dealt a blow with Tom Elliott picking up a knee injury in training this week but his absence will provide an opportunity for both Caolon Lavery and Theo Robinson to show Hughes what they are all about. The season is over for Bradford City now, but they will be looking to throw a spanner in the works of the promotion contenders. 

Newport County are 6th in the league table and are hoping they can get over the line this season after losing in the play-off final last year to Morecambe under former boss Michael Flynn. They appointed James Rowberry in October last year and he has made a positive impression at Rodney Parade, winning 13 games out of a possible 27. However, his side were beaten 3-2 last time out to Hartlepool United which shows although they are perfectly capable of scoring a goal, they are also vulnerable at the back. Rowberry said his team lost because “there were certain moments” where they needed to defend better. Their central midfielder Matty Dolan is an injury worry after coming off in the clash against the Pools. He was replaced by Robbie Wilmott, who has been rewarded with a new contract this week, and he seems the most likely candidate to step in again for him for the trip to Bradford. Newport still carry plenty of threats and their loss last time out was their first in seven league games. Their striker, Dom Telford, is the top scorer in the league on 24 goals and has Forest Green Rovers’ Matty Stevens breathing down his neck on 23. 

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