After suffering back-to-back defeats, promotion-chasing Bolton Wanderers will look to bounce back when they travel to the capital for Saturday's League One clash with Leyton Orient.

The hosts, meanwhile, will have the chance to claim consecutive victories after getting the better of Cheltenham Town in their most recent outing.

Match preview

Bolton head into Saturday's encounter off the back of a couple of disappointing results, including a 2-0 defeat to Portsmouth that brought an end to their 16-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

Unfortunately for the Trotters, another defeat quickly followed as they fell to a 2-1 loss in their home meeting with Bristol Rovers, where they were given a mountain to climb following Ricardo Santos's fifth-minute red card.

Although Eoin Toal found the net in the final 10 minutes to halve Bristol Rovers's lead, it proved to be too little to late for Ian Evatt's side, who dropped from second to fifth position.

Having scored just one goal in their last three league outings, Bolton will be hoping to quickly rediscover the sort of cutting edge that has helped them rack up 38 goals this season – only Peterborough United have registered more in the third tier.

Although they lost at the weekend, Bolton still boast an encouraging record in front of their own supporters, with their 11 home league games producing seven wins, one draw and three defeats.

After going eight league games without a victory, Leyton Orient would have been relieved to return to winning ways in last Saturday's away clash with Cheltenham.

Despite seeing their opponents reduced to 10 men in the opening 20 minutes, the O's looked to be heading towards defeat when Will Goodwin dispatched a second-half penalty to give the Robins a narrow lead.

However, Leyton Orient staged a late fightback, beginning with Shaq Forde's 89th-minute equaliser, before his fellow substitute Ethan Galbraith found the net in the third minute of stoppage time to guide his team to their first league victory since October 14.

As a result of their comeback victory, Leyton Orient moved up a couple of places to 14 positions, extending their gap to the relegation zone to nine points.

Having avoided defeat in each of their last five away league games, the O's will be looking to prolong that fine run of form in their final away game of 2023.

Team News

The hosts are unable to call upon defender George Johnston and forward Dan Nlundulu due to knee and hamstring injuries respectively.

Will Forrester could replace the suspended Santos in a back three, where he is expected to be joined by Gethin Jones and Toal.

After serving a one-match suspension, Josh Sheehan could return to the Bolton midfield for Saturday's home fixture.

Meanwhile, Leyton Orient boss Richie Wellens is unable to call upon the services of Jordan Graham and Aaron Drinan due to injury.

Defender Brandon Cooper remains suspended for the away trip after he received a straight red card in the defeat to Derby County earlier this month.

After dropping down to the bench last weekend, full-back Tom James could return to the side to feature in a back four alongside Omar Beckles, Dan Happe and Rob Hunt.

Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Baxter; Jones, Forrester, Toal; Cogley, Thomason, Sheehan, Maghoma, Iredale; Bodvarsson, Charles

Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:
Brynn; James, Beckles, Happe, Hunt; Brown, El Mizouni; Archibald, Moncur, Sotiriou; Agyei

We say: Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Leyton Orient

Bolton won six straight competitive home games prior to last Saturday's defeat to Bristol Rovers, and we think that they will make full use of home advantage to return to winning ways against Leyton Orient.

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