Wigan vs Leyton Orient Prediction: Goals on the card with in-form Orient in town

The League 1 relegation battle could be narrowed down on Thursday, when Wigan Athletic and Leyton Orient face off at the Brick with both sides still needing points for survival (19:45 BST, Sky Sports+).

Orient have found form of late, but Wigan went down to a meek loss to Reading on Saturday and still have lots of work to do. My Wigan vs Leyton Orient predictions, the latest team news and Betfred’s match odds all follow below.

Team News

Wigan boss Gary Caldwell could make changes after a pathetic showing in Berkshire as the Latics went down 3-0 to the Royals.

Will Aimson had a horror afternoon on Saturday but is likely to get his manager’s backing to start against Orient. James Carragher came off the bench but may well find himself playing the waiting game again.

For Orient, Richie Wellens won’t panic too much after their 0-0 draw with Exeter City ended a four-match winning run.

Michael Craig could come in, with Sean Clare and Tom James both looking set to be ruled out.

Wigan vs Leyton Orient Odds

Wigan have the favour of the oddsmakers here, with Betfred pricing them at 13/10 for the win. That implies a 43.5% probability of a home victory.

The O’s are 21/10 to pick up a fifth win in six, while the draw can be backed at 23/10.

Dom Ballard has netted 21 goals in 33 league appearances this term, including a trio of hat-tricks. The Orient striker is 9/2 to open the scoring at the Brick, and it’s 33/1 for him to bag a fourth treble of the campaign.

Draw & BTTS @ 7/2

Orient have looked like anything but relegation candidates of late. Four straight wins, plus a draw at Exeter last time out, have seen them climb out of the bottom four and put six points between them and the drop zone.

And that run hasn’t been without jeopardy. They were 1-0 down at Stevenage and trailed 2-1 at Wimbledon before claiming full points with 2-1 and 4-2 wins respectively.

Particularly in that victory at Plough Lane, they truly stuck out their chests and went after the game when others might have started to wonder if the tide was turning against them.

Meanwhile, when I watched Wigan at Reading on Saturday I saw absolutely none of those qualities.

The Latics were pretty abysmal from the start, went 2-0 down quickly, and while they moved the ball around comfortably at times late in the first half they did so with very little purpose or tempo.

By the end, they were just thankful Kelvin Ehibatiomhan didn’t score more than twice in the 3-0 reverse.

All of that evidence has me thinking Orient could get the win which would surely make them safe, but Wigan do have form for the bounce-back.

They recently responded to a 3-0 home loss to Plymouth by stunning Bradford City, and Caldwell will be hopeful for similar here.

I think the Tics get their act together in this one, but Orient are too big a pull to back a home win. Given the O’s pourous defence but potent attack, the Both Teams to Score option sits well with a Draw in my mind, and it’s a favourable 7/2 with Betfred.

Dom Ballard Anytime Goalscorer @ 13/8

Where would Orient be without Ballard’s goals this season? Well, they wouldn’t be 17th and breathing with a little less difficulty than half-a-dozen games ago.

The Southampton youth product has been a massive success this term, with his brace against Stevenage and hat-trick at Wimbledon having been key in Orient pulling clear of danger.

It might only take one more big performance from the 21-year-old to see his side safe, and I’m happy to back him to find the net in the north-west on Thursday.

He wasn’t yet an Orient player when they beat Wigan 2-0 back in August, but he gets the chance here to add them to his 10 League 1 victims this season. It’s a 13/8 pick with Betfred for him to score at any time.

Click the links for the latest World Cup Odds and Today's Football Fixtures

Find more Football Betting Tips here at Betfred Insights