Salford vs Leyton Orient Prediction: O’s to progress to the next round

League 2 outfit Salford City face Leyton Orient of the division above in the second round of the FA Cup on Friday (19:30 GMT). It's been a mixed week for the hosts as they posted a 4-3 victory here against Crawley Town in the league on Saturday before losing 7-2 to Rotherham United on home soil in the EFL Trophy.

Orient recorded a 4-0 win at Burton in League 1 on Saturday but fell to a 1-0 defeat at Plymouth Argyle in the EFL Trophy on Wednesday. Read on for my Salford vs Leyton Orient predictions, alongside the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Salford defender Michael Rose is continuing his recovery after pulling up in September's match against Swindon Town.

He told the club website: “It’s going as good as it can go to be honest, we’re on seven weeks now and on the eight week point there’s a scan so I’ve got a scan at the end of the week that will tell us more.

“So far it’s been long, it’s been a bit difficult… In my head I’m where I need to be which is good, but I’ve still got a bit of time to go."

Ben Woodburn, Jay Bird and Ossama Ashley are also sidelined for the hosts and are not expected to be back to help out during the busy festive period.

Tom Edwards, Brandon Cooper, and Fabio Borini still need a couple of weeks in their recoveries, while Dan Chesters and Kyrell Malcolm are closing in on a return to action.

Football Odds

For Leyton Orient, defender Rarmani Edmonds-Green is out with an ACL injury that will likely keep him out for the remainder of the season.

Today's Football Fixtures

Salford vs Leyton Orient Odds

Salford have won two of their last three home games in all competitions and they are 13/8 to prevail in regulation time.

The draw is marketed at 23/10, which was the outcome in normal time in their first-round clash with Lincoln City.

Leyton Orient are 11/8 (implied probability of 42.1%) to win inside 90 minutes, and they have triumphed in two of their previous three away fixtures across all competitions.

To Win Tie - Leyton Orient @ 8/11

When it comes to the FA Cup, it can be easy to show bias when it comes league positions. In this case you have Orient who are in the division above Salford, but this is not expected to be a routine victory for them.

The O's will know this will be a tough place to visit and Richie Wellens is likely going to drill into his players that they will need to be at their best to book their place in the third round.

Salford will try to make life difficult for the east London outfit, and the hosts can ask questions of their own. After all, they defeated a League 1 club in Lincoln in the first round, so this is a game in which the O's cannot underestimate.

It's for that reason that I am not confident in backing the visitors to win in regulation time, instead opting for them to win the tie. I wouldn't be surprised if Salford were able to take this match to penalties again, but on this occasion I think the visitors would then rise to the task if spot-kicks were required.

Total Goals - Under 2.5 @ 11/10

I might be completely wrong here, especially as Orient put four goals past Burton Albion at the weekend and Salford played out a seven-goal thriller here against Crawley, but under 2.5 goals appeals to me.

When it comes to the FA Cup, you will sometimes see teams be more pragmatic and cautious in their play in comparison to a league fixture because they won't have other games to fall back on. You lose you're out.

I think there is quality in both squads here and they can cause each other problems. But I do see both sets of defenders turning up on Friday so it might impact the amount of goals on offer.

Leyton Orient's defeat at home to Plymouth in the EFL trophy went under 2.5 goals, while they won 1-0 at Tamworth in the first round of this competition. And for Salford, it was 1-1 when they played Lincoln before they went on to win via penalties.

I could be way off the mark but the 11/10 price does seem good value.

Salford vs Leyton Orient FAQ

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