Glyn Hodges has called on our squad to build on Saturday’s important victory by reigniting hopes of making progress in the Leasing.com Trophy.

With Brighton having earned two wins out of two in Group C and tonight’s opponents Leyton Orient on three points, Wimbledon need at least a draw to avoid elimination from the competition.

It will be a strong squad for Wimbledon tonight, as Glyn aims to lead us to another win after the important 3-2 victory against Rochdale on Saturday.

Tonight’s match (7.30 pm kick-off) will be the first time that Orient have visited us since April 2016. That 2015/16 season ended in League 2 promotion glory for Wimbledon, a 1-0 win for The Dons proving crucial as Orient finished just outside the play-off positions in eighth place. Orient have since been relegated to non league, before promotion back to League 2 at the end of last season.

Below are quotes from both camps, plus team news, and more.

Glyn Hodges

“It’s a competition that we can potentially win. Any competition we enter we will be looking to win and we take it seriously. The result against Brighton wasn’t a great start, but we have a home game against Orient now. It wasn’t too long ago that the club was celebrating at Wembley (promotion in 2016) and if we can progress and it's on the horizon again, then it would be great for everybody.

“Orient will be strong, they beat Northampton at the weekend so they are coming off the back of a nice win as well. We know what to expect, we’ve done work on them, and I’m more concerned with us producing a similar performance to Saturday. I want to make sure that we end up as positive as we did on Saturday. Having had one win, why not try and get another win? One or two players might get their chances and they know the level now, the standard that we showed on Saturday has to be maintained."

Ross Embleton (Interim Head Coach)

“I enjoy the competition because it’s a competition where I feel we can give people a real good opportunity to play their way into the team. The evidence of that was when we played Southend – Dale Gorman and George Marsh got into the team pretty quickly after that and I maintain that that’s always going to be the case.

“There will certainly be changes to the team on Tuesday night to give people opportunities, to give people minutes on the pitch, and we’ll go out there and look to win again.”

Team news

Luke O’Neill misses out due to a calf injury, but Ryan Delaney is back in contention after being ineligible to face his parent club Rochdale at the weekend.

A quick look at Leyton Orient

In their proud history, Orient actually had one season in the top-flight of English football, the 1962/63 campaign including a memorable victory against local rivals West Ham.

Orient are currently 19^th in League, having won two, drawn three, and lost four, since returning to the league. They won their opening match this season in the Leasing.com Trophy, edging out Southend United at Brisbane Road in September.

Interim Head Coach Ross Embleton guided Orient to an important 1-0 victory at Northampton on Saturday, James Brophy netting the winner. That was an emotional occasion as hosts Northampton paid tribute to Justin Edinburgh, who managed both clubs. Justin had led Orient back into the league, before his tragic death in June. If you missed Glyn’s tribute to Justin, see our previous article. Former Scunthorpe, Millwall, and Gillingham midfielder Josh Wright, who Justin had agreed to sign before his death, is Orient's top scorer this season with four goals so far. 

Last meeting

AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Leyton Orient

A goal from Lyle Taylor earned a vital victory for Wimbledon in the promotion stakes. It turned out to be vital as The Dons filled the final play-off place, just edging out Orient, who finished eighth that season. Of course, Wimbledon went on to earn glory at Wembley with a 2-0 win against Plymouth Argyle.

Click on the link below to watch the highlights of that previous Wimbledon versus Orient match.

Last time out

AFC Wimbledon 3-2 Rochdale AFC

Northampton 0-1 Leyton Orient

Tickets

Entry prices for tonight’s home game (Paul Strank Stand only) are as follows:

All Adults (including concessions) £10

Under 18s £5

iFollow

Supporters can watch the live on iFollow by purchasing a match pass. You can access the channel by visiting our Match Centre on the website.