How high-flying Leyton Orient plan to give Man City a bloody nose

“I deliberation you lone get immoderate you gain successful life, truthful I deliberation we’ve earned it. This is simply a crippled that volition beryllium seen globally.”

Leyton Orient president Nigel Travis cannot incorporate his excitement. On Saturday lunchtime, Travis and his beloved Orient, whom helium has supported for 64 years, invited Manchester City to Brisbane Road successful the 4th circular of the FA Cup.

Travis led a consortium which rescued the O’s from the ruinous ownership of Francesco Becchetti successful 2017, erstwhile they had slumped into non-League.

Now the nine are sitting beauteous successful the League One play-off places, with the imaginable of promotion to the Championship much than simply a tube dream.

“We’ve had seven-and-a-half years of changeless betterment - not galore clubs tin accidental that,” Travis tells Standard Sport arsenic helium dials successful via video nexus from his basal successful Boston, Massachusetts with his telephone is gripped tightly successful his manus astatine each times.

He is speaking connected transportation deadline time and is keen to guarantee deals to motion Rarmani Edmonds-Green and Randell Williams get implicit the enactment successful time. They do, though some are cup-tied and cannot play connected Saturday.

“We volition beryllium delighted to invited Manchester City and each their achievements,” says Travis. “It’s a dainty for the players, the coaches, the spectators, and the Leyton Orient board.”

While City’s way to the 4th circular was abbreviated and precise saccharine - an 8-0 triumph implicit neighbours Salford past clip retired - Orient’s travel has been longer and much dramatic.

They person knocked retired Boreham Wood, Oldham and Derby - their second-round 2-1 triumph requiring a 99th-minute headed equaliser from on-loan Tottenham goalkeeper Josh Keeley to prevention them from defeat.

Orient’s people astatine the commencement of the play was to bask a amended run than the last.

They person already made headway successful each 3 cups and are well-placed to fare amended successful the league, which manager Richie Wellens maintains is his “main focus”.

Wellens and his coaching unit person structured this week conscionable similar immoderate other, with grooming connected Thursday and Friday circumstantial to their play opponents.

But the Manchester-born manager, who began his playing vocation astatine Manchester United, knows afloat good this is nary mean play fixture.

“In a league game, much often than not we person much of the shot than the opposition. This time, we don’t deliberation we will,” helium says unassumingly, and you’d hazard a conjecture he’s right.

“We won’t person loads of opportunities to score, truthful we request to marque them count.”

For Wellens, who managed Oldham and Salford arsenic good arsenic Swindon and Doncaster earlier joining the O’s successful 2022, Saturday ought to beryllium a root of immense idiosyncratic pride.

Is this not an unforgettable accidental to stock the dugout with arguably the top manager the athletics has ever seen?

“I don’t disagree with that,” helium says. “Pep [Guardiola] is simply a pioneer for antithetic styles of play. The modular of coaching has gone up since Pep came to England. I’ve taken small things from him. He’s a spot of a genius.”

Yet Guardiola and fifth-place City person shown they are not truthful infallible this season. Can Orient currency in?

“I deliberation we’ve seen weaknesses implicit the past fewer months,” Wellens admits. “Whether it beryllium connected turnover of possession oregon being pressed high. There were examples against Arsenal [who thrashed City 5-1 connected Sunday].

“But it’s 1 happening identifying it; person we got the players susceptible of doing it? We’ll effort to exposure and exploit their weaknesses.”

Though skipper Darren Pratley is simply a mates of minutes precocious to his interrogation with Standard Sport, it is for precise bully reason.

The midfielder has featured successful 20 of Orient’s 24 league games this word and truthful receives acupuncture arsenic portion of his recovery. In a mates of months, helium turns 40; first, though, clip to smother City’s midfield creativity astatine source.

“Obviously they are missing Rodri - a apical subordinate - but determination are inactive world-class midfield players successful there. We’re not reasoning they are susceptible successful midfield. They’ve got Phil Foden, [Kevin] De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva. The rotations they do, positions they get in, they tin crook a game.”

Pratley went toe-to-toe with City doubly successful the 2011-12 Premier League play for Bolton. “To beryllium playing the champions 14 years aft I archetypal did is thing I wouldn’t person expected. I lone deliberation astir my property erstwhile radical say. I don’t consciousness it.

“But I’m much excited for our young players to spot however the champions bash what they do.”

Still, the seasoned is optimistic an upset could beryllium connected the cards.

“We’ve got threats, ourselves. Our striker Charlie Kelman is connected form, wide players are doing well. We request to person our champion time astatine the bureau and them to person their worst. You ne'er cognize what’s going to hap successful the FA Cup.”

That overmuch is for sure, and Travis chuckles arsenic helium recalls having to explicate to shot fans Stateside rather however his nine person travel to beryllium playing Manchester City, galore being unfamiliar with the quality betwixt league matters and the David-and-Goliath workings of the oldest cupful contention successful the world.

“My woman lives present successful Boston with me,” Travis says. “Even she is coming to spot the game!

“The champion feeling, being a president of a shot club, is seeing the stadium full, a batch of noise, radical successful hospitality having a large time.

“We sometimes hide that shot is an flight from the rigours of the world. It’s going to beryllium 2 teams that play bully football, connected a bully aboveground - it should beryllium a spectacle.”