Leyton Orient vs Wycombe Wanderers - prediction, team news, lineups

By Calum Burrowes | 10 Sep 2026 10:57, Last updated: 10 Sep 2026 11:03

Looking to break into the top six of the League One table, Leyton Orient welcome winless Wycombe Wanderers to Brisbane Road on Saturday afternoon.

The O's will be looking to return to winning ways after drawing in the league last weekend and suffering a third-round exit from the EFL Cup at the hands of Bradford City during the week, while the Chairboys travel to East London still searching for their first win of the season and without a manager after parting ways with Michael Duff following their heavy 5-1 defeat away to Stockport County.

Following a close call with relegation from League One last season, when Leyton Orient finished just three points above the drop zone, Richie Wellens was determined to ensure that his side would not have to endure another campaign battling near the bottom of the table.

Although they lost their top scorer, and the division's leading goalscorer, Dominic Ballard to Bristol City, the O's have made a bright start to the new season and head into Saturday's clash with an opportunity to break into the top six, albeit very early in what is a 46-match campaign.

Wellens' side have won two, lost two and drawn one of their five league matches so far, leaving them with seven points, while their goalscoring form suggests that the departure of Ballard has not significantly weakened their attacking threat after the forward netted 23 times in 40 appearances during the 2025-26 season. 

Leyton Orient are already among the division's top scorers after finding the net 10 times in their opening five league matches, with only four sides having scored more.

Half of that tally came in one match, when the O's brushed Bromley aside in a huge 5-0 away victory, already surpassing their biggest win of last season in the process.

However, Orient were unable to make it back-to-back League One victories after drawing 1-1 with Luton town last weekend, coming from behind to claim their first league draw of the season thanks to a Jaze Kabia strike.

As for visiting Wycombe Wanderers, they have endured a difficult start to the 2026-27 campaign and arrive at Brisbane Road, where they have not enjoyed a league victory since April 2017, still searching for their first win after recording three draws and two defeats in the English third tier. 

The Chairboys have also been knocked out of the League Cup by Stevenage at the start of August and lost their only EFL Trophy match on penalties to Reading.

Their winless start to the new campaign follows a respectable mid-table finish in League One last season, when Wycombe Wanderers ended the 2025-26 campaign 11th with 63 points.

However, the Chairboys now head into their sixth league match of the season sitting 23rd in the table, with their latest draw almost feeling like a defeat after they surrendered a 2-0 lead at home to MK Dons and were forced to settle for a point in a 3-3 stalemate, a result that marked the end of Duff's tenure in charge of the Buckinghamshire-based club. 

The departure of a manager so early in the season will feel like Groundhog Day for Wycombe supporters following Michael Dodds' departure almost exactly a year ago, when he made a similarly poor start to the campaign before being replaced by Duff.

A win on the final day against Rotherham United has been Wycombe's only victory in their last 13 matches in all competitions, while the decision to part ways with Duff means that the former Cheltenham Town, Barnsley, Swansea City and Huddersfield boss became the first manager to be sacked in the top four divisions.

Tom Hounsell has now been tasked with taking interim charge of Saturday's game as Wycombe look to secure their first victory of the season, which could lift them out of the bottom four, although recent history is not on their side after losing this exact fixture 2-0 back in March.

Wycombe Wanderers form (all competitions):

Heading into their EFL Cup match earlier this week, Wellens made seven changes with the league remaining the priority, and he is expected to make wholesale changes to the side that lost 3-1 to Bradford on Tuesday night.

One potential change could come in attack, with former Tottenham striker Dane Scarlett potentially making his first start since signing for Leyton Orient a few weeks ago, while Nathan Baxter is also likely to return to the fold after Noah Phillips started in goal during the week.

However, Scarlett may have to wait for his opportunity, as Kabia has scored three goals in his last two appearances and is expected to lead the line once again on Saturday afternoon.

Wellens also has a few injury concerns to contend with, with Aaron Connolly, Rarmani Edmonds-Green, Ollie O'Neill and Somto Boniface all remaining on the sidelines with various concerns.

As for the visitors, it remains to be seen how Hounsell will line up his Wycombe XI for Saturday's clash, with this being his first game as manager since a 12-game spell as caretaker boss with Burton Albion back in 2024.

The new man in the dugout will, however, be unable to call upon the services of Daniel Harvie, who was replaced early in the first half against Sheffield Wednesday just over a week ago.

Expect Jayden Wareham to lead the line, with Cauley Woodrow resuming in the 10 role and last season's top scorer Fred Onyedinma operating out wide.

Baxter; Stevens, Olowu, Forrester; C. Wellens, Hyaden, El Mizouni, Chinedu; Akhamrich, Kabia, Mitchell

Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Hazard; Parker, Casey, Taylor, Hagelskjaer; Henderson, Morley; Onyedinma, Woodrow, Mothersille; Wareham

The two sides head into Saturday's early kickoff having experienced contrasting starts to the new season, with the hosts looking to bounce back from their midweek cup defeat and the visitors out of form and currently managerless.

We expect Leyton Orient to take advantage of Wycombe's poor form and return to winning ways, potentially ending the weekend inside the top six.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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