Preview: Newport County vs. Leyton Orient - prediction, team news, lineups

Newport County and Leyton Orient meet at Rodney Parade on Saturday looking to earn back-to-back wins after victories last time out.

The hosts return to League Two action after an EFL Trophy tie in midweek, whilst the visitors have not played since last weekend's triumph in the league, so come into this with the fresher legs.

Match preview

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Newport will be hoping that their troubles of the previous week are well behind them after their 2-0 win over Plymouth Argyle in the EFL Trophy in the week.

Despite manager Michael Flynn resting some first-team players and giving a few youngsters a chance to impress, his side scored two goals for the first time this season.

The previous week saw Newport thrashed 8-0 on home soil at the hands of Premier League side Southampton in the EFL Cup, followed by a 3-0 beating away to Salford City in the league last weekend.

The clean sheet will have been welcome after those hammerings, especially against a Plymouth side enjoying a good start to the season in the division above Newport.

Flynn's side will now turn their attentions to League Two action again at the weekend, as they look to replicate that impressive performance in order to gain revenge over a Leyton Orient side that did the double over them in the league last season.

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As mentioned above, Orient arrive at Rodney Parade on the back of a victory last time out themselves.

However, they are not due to play in the EFL Trophy for another couple of weeks, so have enjoyed a rare full week in between matches since beating Bradford City 2-0 in League Two action last weekend.

Ruel Sotiriou and Harry Smith scored second-half goals as they too bounced back from a defeat in the previous match.

The 2-0 defeat at home to Harrogate Town prior to it was Orient's first defeat of the season, if you exclude the defeat on penalties to Queens Park Rangers in the EFL Cup after a 1-1 draw.

After finishing 17th in League Two on their return to the EFL in 2019-20, and 11th last season, this weekend's visitors find themselves in the playoff places ahead of the trip, as they look to continue their progress up the table and through the divisions.

Team News

After resting some first-team players in the EFL Trophy tie in midweek, Newport manager Michael Flynn may return a few to his starting lineup despite the impressive team performance in the win against Plymouth.

Deadline day signings Ollie Cooper and Jake Cain, who arrived on loan from Swansea City and Liverpool, were handed their immediate debuts in the week. They impressed in midfield so may retain their places.

As for the visitors, they will be missing one of the goalscorers from last week's win over Bradford, as Ruel Sotiriou is away with the Cyprus Under-21s over the international break.

Young midfielder Hector Kyprianou joins Sotiriou with the Cypriot youngsters, so is also unavailable for manager Kenny Jackett.

Jackett said recently that he will continue to rotate his team and his formation depending on the opponent his side faces, so it is likely that he will leave everyone guessing regarding who will get the nod at the weekend.

Newport County possible starting lineup:
Day; Norman, Clarke, Farquharson, Haynes; Bennett, Cain; Willmott, Cooper, Telford; Fisher

Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:
Vigouroux; James, Beckles, Ogie, Wood; Pratley, Clay; Omotoye, Kemp, Archibald; Smith

We say: Newport County 1-1 Leyton Orient

Two fairly evenly matched sides meet here so this could be a tight match and a tough one to call. Therefore, in that situation we say this could be a 1-1 draw, as both sides probably cancel each other out after wins last time out.

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