Orient Head For Swansea

Having welcomed both Arsenal and Chelsea last weekend, Wales gets ready to welcome the real London superstars in Leyton Orient. After two impressive victories, Orient head to Swansea City and a game that nobody in South Wales gives them the slightest chance of winning.

The Swans have not enjoyed the sort of season they might have anticipated after losing out on penalties in last season`s play-off final. Kenny Jackett was sacked earlier this month and now Orient will provide the first test for Roberto Martinez at the Liberty.

A bumper crowd is expected, the Swans fans are expecting one of their heroes to lead their side to victory and every Swansea player will be doing his utmost to impress. Unfortunately for the Welsh side, they might just have underestimated their opposition and that could prove costly.

Orient have the tendency to win when they shouldn`t and having won at Forest and Millwall, two of the bigger stadiums in League One, there will be a few Orient players chomping at the bit to succeed in the mightily impressive Liberty Stadium.

Swansea may possess great quality going forward but in Ryan Jarvis Orient have a very special striker that could fire Orient further away from the drop zone on Saturday.

The midfield duo of Easton and Chambers will be absolutely crucial whilst Shane Tudor will play a vital role in providing the ammunition for Jarvis and Alexander.

It`s a game that Orient should thrive in after all, nobody thought they would win at Forest and nobody gave them a chance at Millwall. With the O`s you just never ever know.

Swansea City Team News:

Swansea are without a whole host of players for the meeting with Orient on Saturday in South Wales. The Swans have defenders Kevin Amankwaah and Dennis Lawrence suspended whilst Kevin Austin and Izzy Iriekpen will also be missing from the backline.

Roberto Martinez must also do without Captain Garry Monk, Steve Watt, Shaun McDonald, Richard Duffy, Owain Tudor-Jones and Darren Way.

Former Orient striker Adebayo Akinfenwa will miss the rest of the season after breaking his leg whilst midfielder Darren Pratley is also out for the remainder of the campaign with a shoulder injury.

Player to watch: Lee Trundle

Lee Trundle is the obvious man to watch for O`s fans but Swansea have other players that could prove just as dangerous. Having sold both Rory Fallon and Leon Knight, the Swans have pinned their hopes on new signing Pawel Abbot who arrived from Huddersfield during the transfer window. The Polish striker grabbed the first goal during the 2-1 win at Rotherham on Tuesday and will provide a real threat to Orient`s current good run of form.

In midfield, both Leon Britton and Andy Robinson are more than capable of hurting the O`s whilst Ian Craney, a midfielder signed from Accrington, is also an accomplished player.

Leyton Orient Team News:

Martin Ling is expected to keep faith with the same side that won 3-1 against Tranmere last Saturday. Both Luke Guttridge and Alton Thelwell remain sidelined with injury whilst Michael Simpson, Donny Barnard and Efe Echanomi are expected to miss the rest of the season.

Jabo Ibehre should return to the match day squad after recovering form injury whilst Phil Mulryne should be on the bench once again after playing for the reserves in midweek.

Orient probable: Garner; Miller, Lockwood, Saah, Mackie; Tudor, Corden, Chambers, Easton; Alexander, Jarvis.

Subs: Morris, Demetriou, Ibehre, Mulryne, Tann.

Player to watch: Ryan Jarvis

With 5 goals in his past two games, Ryan Jarvis is absolutely flying. The young striker has been a breath of fresh air since he arrived on-loan from Norwich City and Orient fans will be hoping he can continue his goal scoring streak with another goal or two against Swansea City.

Match Facts & Stats

This is the 70th league meeting between the two sides with Swansea having won 25 to Orient`s 28th.

This is Orient`s first ever trip to the Liberty Stadium. The O`s last played Swansea at Vetch Field on 19th October 2004 with the home side winning 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Adrian Forbes.

The two sides met earlier in the season at Brisbane Road with the Swans once again winning 1-0 thanks to a Leon Knight goal.

Orient`s last win at Swansea came on December 21st 2002 as the O`s managed a 1-0 victory thanks to a rather rare strike from Chris Tate.

Swansea are currently 7th in League One with 51 points from 35 games.

The Swans have won 8 games at home this season whilst drawing five and losing four.

The Welsh side have scored 24 goals at home whilst conceding 12.

Lee Trundle is the top scorer with 15 goals for Swansea.

Ref Watch:

Trevor Kettle from Berkshire will be the man in charge at the Liberty Stadium.

Mr Kettle has shown 99 yellow cards and 7 red cards in his 31 games so far this season.

Mr Kettle last took charge of a game involving Orient back in 2005 as Orient lost 3-1 at home to Luton in the first round of the Carling Cup.

Match Prediction:

With a crucial game at Chesterfield on the horizon, Martin Ling will want his side to go to Saltergate on the back of another victory. Swansea will provide a tough test for the O`s but if they can show the same fight and determination as they did at Millwall then they are truly capable of upsetting Roberto Martinez`s day. The Libery surface will give the O`s the chance to play football whilst the sheer size of the pitch will also enable the O`s to use the pace of Tudor on the right.

The pressure is on Swansea to perform and with nobody really giving the O`s a chance, it could be a case of ‘Gracias for the three points, Senor Martinez`.

Score Prediction:

Swansea 2-2 Orient