Forget Bolton & Huddersfield: Leyton Orient will be causing Reading FC plenty of worry as Easter pressure mounts | OneFootball

The O's are hot on the heels of Reading in a chase for a play-off place.

Leyton Orient are heading into the Easter weekend with their eyes firmly set on a place in League One's top six.

Coming off of a 3-1 win at relegation-threatened Crawley Town, the O's currently sit seventh, only three points from the play-off places.

Reading, who currently sit sixth and are occupying the final play-off position, will be anxiously looking over their shoulder while the O's are in action over the weekend.

Leyton Orient have to win both games to keep dreams alive

If Orient want any hope of passing Reading, they simply have to win both fixtures across the Easter weekend.

On Good Friday they host Barnsley, who were previously winless in seven, before comfortably dispatching fellow play-off hunters Bolton Wanderers - a result that saw the O's leapfrog the Whites on goal difference.

The reverse fixture saw the O's run riot at Oakwell Stadium, with goals from Donley, Beckles, Kelman and Perkins securing a 4-0 win in late December.

The O's should fancy themselves to defeat a Barnsley side that has only picked up five points since the start of March, despite that recent win against a fellow play-off hopeful in Bolton.

Following that, the O's head on a relatively short journey up the M11 to visit Cambridge United, who could already have been relegated before the match kicks off.

Orient handily defeated the U's in their final match of 2024, with a 2-0 win coming courtesy of O'Neill and Donley goals in the midst of the O's unbeaten run between December and February.

Anything but repeat results are, at this stage of the season, inexcusable if the O's are to make it into the play-offs.

Fate is out of Leyton Orient's hands

As much as many Orient fans will dream of another promotion year and a winning trip to Wembley, unfortunately the O's will have to rely on other results to go their way.

Six points across those two games would be crucial in Orient's push for promotion, especially when rivals Reading have a pair of fixtures that most would expect them to pick up maximum points - hosting Lincoln City before travelling to Mansfield Town.

A loss in either of their matches could see Orient potentially slip out of play-off contention - especially if Bolton Wanderers or Huddersfield Town were to also pick up a pair of wins to keep their own dreams alive.

Ultimately, though, it is Orient who Reading will fear most. Bolton are seriously inconsistent under Steven Schumacher and have to face Wycombe Wanderers on Good Friday, whilst Huddersfield, where the wheels have truly come off, play Stockport County away from home on Easter Monday. The chance of either putting on maximum points this weekend feels slim, leaving Orient with the task of applying pressure.

With four league games remaining, the clock is ticking on an Orient side that have done incredibly well to be in the position they are in so far, but are looking likely to fall short at the final hurdle if the league table stays true to itself.

Reading, who, despite their off-the-pitch struggles, have only lost once since the start of February, would have to drop points on at least one occasion for there to be real hope for the O's, who still have to travel to Huddersfield on the final day - a side who comfortably defeated the O's earlier in the season.

While the ball isn't quite in Orient's court, they must be professional and pick up six points while hoping that the Royals slip up at some point during the final four matchdays.

Maximum points feels the minimum required over the coming weekend is needed to put the pressure on to keep the dream alive that it can be second tier football next season.

The O's are the biggest threat to Reading's place in the play-offs, and you suspect they are fully aware of that heading into the key weekend of the season.