⁠Leyton Orient will have double Bolton Wanderers motivation this weekend | OneFootball

Leyton Orient have more than one reason to want payback against Bolton on Saturday.

Leyton Orient are currently flying high in League One.

Coming off the back of Tuesday's 2-1 win over Wrexham, the O's are currently sitting sixth in the table, a far cry from any potential relegation fears when they sat 21st back in December.

As they look toward Saturday's trip to Bolton Wanderers, they will have more than one reason to want to walk away with the three points.

Leyton Orient will think back to reverse fixture mistakes

Back in August, Orient's season opened with a home fixture against the Trotters.

The previous season's game featuring the two sides at E10 saw the O's triumph, with a sole strike from Dan Agyei settling the match.

This year, however, Bolton came flying out of the traps, with a strike from Dion Charles passing straight through the gloves of then-Orient goalkeeper Zach Hemming eight minutes in.

The O's leveled the game on the 38th minute, with a long ball from Dan Happe being met by striker Charlie Kelman, who slotted it into the bottom corner.

Eventually, the game was settled in the 75th minute, with Hemming spilling a free kick straight into the path of former O's striker Victor Adeboyejo.

Hemming failed to make a single save in the match, while Bolton goalkeeper Nathan Baxter made four.

Hemming has since had his loan terminated early and has since re-joined former club St Mirren in Scotland, while Orient have seen the rise of Josh Keeley - with the Ireland U21 international having kept 13 clean sheets in 21 League One games as the O's now boast the fourth-best defensive record in the league.

Saturday is a play-off six pointer for Leyton Orient and Bolton

Both Orient and Bolton will be wary of what dropping points during Saturday's game does to their hopes of finishing the season inside the top six.

Bolton as of late have dropped points to several play-off contenders, with defeats against Charlton and Reading in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the O's have picked up some crucial wins against the likes of Wrexham, Reading and Lincoln City.

A win for Orient would put them six points clear of Bolton and, should Huddersfield Town fail to win, would see the O's rise to fifth - which would be Orient's highest position in the EFL pyramid since securing promotion from the National League back in 2019.

Manager Richie Wellens will have the selection headache of not having Darren Pratley available following his dismissal mid-week, as well as a possible injury blow with defender Jack Simpson.

Speaking after the Wrexham match, he claimed: "Jack Simpson's just rolled his ankle. [Jack Currie] is fine, nothing's wrong with him. Bolton is a big pitch, Jack Currie will come back in. Galbraith might need a rest."

With the vast majority of the squad available, Orient will want to be at their best to beat a side as strong as Bolton, but with all the confidence behind them, the O's should be confident in bringing the three points back to E10.

At this point in the season, it's not difficult to find motivation and a six pointer should get Orient up for the trip to Bolton. Furthermore, what happened all the way back in August will be playing on the minds of Wellens and his squad. It's time to dish up some revenge at the best possible time.