Exeter, the top-ranked team in English League One, will face Leyton Orient, who are struggling to adapt to this level of the league, at St. James' Park on Saturday afternoon. Hosts Exeter have made a good start to their second return season, while Leyton Orient, last season's English League Two champions, are still adapting to this level of soccer.
Exeter edged out a 1-0 win at Burton Albion last weekend in a team that looks like it could be fighting relegation this season. It was a game in which the away side Exeter had the lion's share of possession and breakaway chances, with loan midfielder Ryan Trevitt from Brentford scoring his second goal since joining the club on 75 minutes.
Gary Caldwell's side now return to their home ground in Devon for the third time this season as they take on opponents at home. In August, Exeter City drew with recently relegated Blackpool and beat Ruben Sellers' Reading at St. James' Park.
Their 13 points from their opening six games puts Exeter City at the top of the English League One table, ahead of Bolton Wanderers, Stevenage and Portersdale by virtue of their superior goal differential.
Exeter City face the huge task of replacing that trio in attack after Sam Nombe, Jevani Brown and Jay Stansfield all moved on in the summer, but conceding just two goals in just six games gives you a better chance of points anyway.
Leyton Orient won the English League Two title over Stevenage and Northampton Town last season, but they have had a particularly difficult time in League ** early in the new season.
A 2-0 win against Cambridge United at the end of August was their only shutout of the season so far, with Theo Archibald and Shaq Forde both scoring against Mark Bonner's side.
Apart from that convincing success at home, Orient have struggled to fend off their League ** rivals so far this season, conceding four goals against Portsmouth, three against Wycombe Wanderers, plus three against Steve Evans' newly promoted Boro side.
Similar to Saturday's hosts, Leyton Orient lost a key attacking player in the summer, seeing the return of last season's 10-goal striker Paul Smyth to QPR as the West London club look to avoid relegation from the division.
Leyton Orient's away defense in 2022-23 was the strongest in the English fourth tier, conceding just 21 goals in 23 games, but some of the bigger teams in League One have shown that this season will pose a different challenge to Richie Wellens' side.
Despite Leyton Orient's new-found optimism from last weekend's game, Exeter have had a great start to the season and they have the strength of character to take on Leyton Orient. We predict that they will win the game at home, with the result predicted to be Exeter City 3-1 Leyton Orient.
