Leyton Orient face unpredictable Stockport County outcome as Wembley dream comes into focus | OneFootball

Few will be able to predict the outcome as two in-form sides meet in play-off semi final.

Leyton Orient are looking to cap off a magical season with a trip to Wembley via the League One play-offs.

Standing between them and a date at the home of English football are Stockport County - a side who themselves are also on a tremendous run of form.

Orient claimed their place in the top six with a 4-1 win on the final day against Huddersfield Town, while the Hatters defeated Wycombe Wanderers to finish the campaign in third place.

Both Stockport and Orient are on very similar league journeys

Across the last decade or so, the rise of both Orient and Stockport up the football pyramid has been nothing short of fairy tales, with both hitting devastating non-league lows before gaining promotions to get back to the level of football where both sets of fans will argue their club belongs.

Both teams have also ended the season in phenomenal form, with both picking up 25 points from their last ten matches - only trailing champions Birmingham City in that period.

Stockport manager Dave Challinor could set out to prove a point after he was arguably snubbed for a nomination for League One Manager of the Year, with Orient's manager Richie Wellens getting the nod before Birmingham manager Chris Davies eventually took home the award.

Wellens is likely to make a return to the touchline following the completion of a suspension for accumulation of yellow cards, which could be crucial following assistant Paul Terry's dismissal on the final day.

The O's and Stockport have already met twice this season, with both fixtures coming under very different circumstances.

Orient first headed to Edgeley Park in September, with the O's having only won once so far in their league campaign, while County were unbeaten in their first five. This, however, didn't stop Orient running riot with a 4-1 win courtesy of goals from Dan Agyei, Sean Clare as well as a brace from Ethan Galbraith.

While the scoreline was a preview of the goal-scoring form Orient would find later on in the season, this wouldn't be the boost Orient needed as they went on to go winless in their next five league games and slowly slip into what looked like a relegation battle - with Stockport themselves only picking up one win in that timeframe and falling down the table.

The next meeting between the two sides was at E10 in February, with the Hatters picking up a 1-0 win, with Kyle Wootton scoring an early winner in a game where Stockport were comfortable and Orient never truly looked like scoring - despite the O's having previously been unbeaten in their previous 11 league games. Richie Wellens described the performance as "slow and lethargic".

The trend of these fixtures between the two sides seems to ignore all previous form shown by either team - something that makes this play-off clash almost impossible to predict; perhaps even more so than what we usually see in the lottery that is the play-offs.

All bets are off on who of this pair will reach Wembley as we head into the weekend of the first semi-finals.