Most of you will know all too well my thoughts on Orient and we last discussed them ahead of their JPT defeat at Stevenage ...Orient are riding high at the top of League 1 and progressed in the FA Cup on Saturday with an easy win over Conference side Southport, they got a home draw in the next round and surely that and the league campaign, is more than enough to keep them busy, given that they have one of the smaller League 1 squads. We have discussed them many times this season, ahead of the recent trip to Northampton to play Coventry I wrote ... "We took City with the quarter ball handicap start there, the match ended 0-0 which was fine and probably a fair result, Orient won the penalty shoot out, which is how things are going for them this season, no injuries and any luck in games going their way. That will change and we are waiting for the effects of a long season and reliance on 4-5 very key players to kick in with this small squad, that has massively overachieved so far. All credit to them for doing so, but there will be a cost somewhere down the line and we will be ready ! It is not tonight, as Orient will be unchanged, they have been able to field the same starting eleven, including tonight in 12 of 13 starts, one player missed one game, approaching a third of the way through a modern football season, have you ever heard the like ! Obviously they are playing with massive confidence, but the lack of rotation is an increased concern, at least for me, especially with the quick turnaround and I have to take a little on City who are very resilient, they have taken eight points from four tough games since the loss to Brentford and have had slightly the better of the two previous meetings between the two."

They lost that 3-1, but have got back on track with two league victories and that FA Cup win, however, despite the addition of striker Robbie Simpson ( who was deemed surplus to requirements by Oldham Athletic and who has "done the rounds" in recent seasons) to the squad yesterday on a two month trial deal, I suspect it will all be about the visit from Preston at the weekend, one of the teams trying to put pressure on the leaders and the four very tough looking league matches they still have to play this month.

They have won just once in four league starts, they are catching fewer teams cold now, scouting reports are in , most opposition coaching staff know what to expect and for the reasons outlined, there is not much of a Plan B for the O's, what they do, they do well, but they are hugely dependent on 4-5 players staying fit, or suspension free and that cannot happen over 46 games. Today they lose David Mooney (19-13-3) to a ban and boss Russell Slade said in an interview that "we will be without both our strikers", which means Kevin Lisbie (17-10-6) should also be missing, after most media said he was likely to be fit to return. In addition, the club has been ravaged by a virus over the last 7-10 days and whilst they are mostly over that now, it does leave you weak and Valley Parade is not the place to come at less than 100%. Their two central defenders Cuthbert and Clarke were amongst the worst hit and will be in for a torrid time from giant City striker James Hanson, who must have been standing in a ditch when they measured him at 1.93m ! He and Nahki Wells are no less dangerous a partnership than the Orient front men, with 19 goals between them too and they are both fit and available today, along with the rest of the home squad. Home win. 1.5 units Bradford City -0.5 ball 2.50-2.60 general quote.