Two sides looking to avoid relegation to the depths of non-league go head-to-head on Tuesday night as Leyton Orient host Morecambe at Brisbane Road.
Orient have been on an absolutely abysmal run in the last few weeks having lost each of their last five league matches, placing them in the bottom two. However, with just one point separating them from safety, Orient still have a decent chance of getting out of trouble.
Defence has certainly been the main problem for Andy Edwards’ side with no clean sheet in the league in their last eight matches and just 4 in their 28 league matches overall so far in which they have conceded a hefty 43 goals.
Going forward has also been rather problematic with the O’s scoring just one more goal than the number of matches they have played (29) – this is the third worst in League Two.
Home is certainly not where the heart is for Orient and they have the worst record in the entire division having taken just 10 points from 15 games at the Matchroom Stadium. They may have won two matches on home turf in the last few weeks but, having lost their last two, confidence could drop once more. They lost all of their home matches in the league from 27th August to 22nd November.
After starting the season so well, Morecambe have now dropped like a stone. Off field problems such as non-payment of salary have plagued Morecambe for the entire campaign and they can count themselves lucky that they are not deeper in trouble. They currently sit 17th in the table and seven points above the drop-zone after a run of no defeats in four.
Although they destroyed Notts County 4-1 a couple of weeks ago, goals have been a bit of a problem for the Shrimps in recent times with just two goals scored in the three matches around that Notts County match. However, an overall goal record of 33 in 26 makes pretty good reading.
Defensively, Jim Bentley’s side have been poor with just four clean sheets all season – the second worst in the division.
Despite a few defensive problems, away form has actually been pretty good for Morecambe (19 points in 13 games) while they’ve been particularly in the final third with them scoring in 85% of their matches on the road.
Given their goal-scoring prowess on the road, combined with just how poor Leyton Orient are right now, Morecambe to take the points here combined with ‘Over 1.5 Goals’, at 11/4, looks a good bet. Orient have conceded at least twice in their last five fixtures and have looked all over the place defensively. Morecambe can continue their decent run here by scoring a couple of goals.
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