Leedsvs.Oxford Utd

The Whites were held to a share of the spoils by Preston North End last time out, whilst the U's suffered a season-altering 3-1 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

Match preview

Following the sobering one-goal defeat to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park during the closing stages of November, Leeds United have commenced their hectic festive schedule with a three-game unbeaten run, enjoying victories over Derby County and Middlesbrough before a jaunt to Deepdale last Saturday.

Although favourites for the contest against a struggling Preston, it looked as if the Whites were on course for an embarrassing defeat until the 93rd-minute, when an own goal from defender Jack Whatmough restored parity for the visitors following Brad Potts's first-half opener.

After rescuing a point at the last moment in Lancashire last time out, Leeds are currently occupying second place in the Championship standings ahead of their final fixture prior to Christmas Day, one point ahead of third-placed Burnley and three points behind pacesetters Sheffield United.

Dropping just five points across 11 second-tier matches at Elland Road so far this term, Daniel Farke's troops boast the best home record in the division as they hurtle towards the halfway point of the season, last tasting defeat in front of their Yorkshire faithful in September.

Part of the furniture at the top of the Championship's goalscoring charts over recent years, Joel Piroe is leading the way for promotion-hunting Leeds with seven strikes from 21 appearances, whilst Brenden Aaronson and Dan James have chipped in with five and four strikes respectively.

After a difficult 3-1 defeat at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford United made the tough decision to part ways with Des Buckingham, a move enacted in the "best interests of the club", with the head coach given little time to turn the fortunes around of a side who were tipped to struggle this term.

It looked as if the U's were on course for their fifth second-tier victory of the season when left-back Gregory Leigh opened the scoring in the first half, but the visiting Owls managed to stage a convincing comeback courtesy of strikes from Josh Windass, Jamal Lowe and Djeidi Gassama.

In the midst of a six-game winless streak in the second tier, managerless Oxford have slumped down to 20th position in the Championship table following a promising start to the campaign, now only one point ahead of fellow newly-promoted side Portsmouth in the highest of the relegation spots.

Alongside fellow relegation candidates Cardiff City and Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle, the U's are one of three sides in the division who are yet to enjoy victory on their travels this season, with the Oxfordshire-based club conceding 18 goals across nine away fixtures.

As a result, those of an Oxford persuasion in Yorkshire will watch on in hope than more expectation of a positive outcome this weekend, with the U's most recent trip to Elland Road arriving in August 2012, when Rodolph Austin was amongst the goalscorers for Leeds during a routine EFL Cup win.

Leeds United Championship form:

W

W

L

W

W

D

Oxford United Championship form:

L

L

L

D

L

L

Team News

Leeds remain without the services of Ilia Gruev due to a knee issue, meaning that Ao Tanaka is set to continue in the engine room for the hosts.

The Whites are also unable to call upon the talents of Joe Gelhardt, who has featured just twice in the league this term owing to a hip issue.

The hosts are short of options in full-back positions due to the hamstring strain of Junior Firpo, so Sam Byram should start once again this weekend.

Oxford are struggling without depth on their left flank, with both Louie Sibley (ankle) and summer arrival Siriki Dembele (ankle) on the sidelines.

Adding to that particular issue, veteran Joe Bennett suffered a broken ankle in August and will not be available for selection until after the New Year.

Leeds United possible starting lineup:

Meslier; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Byram; Tanaka, Rothwell; James, Aaronson, Ramazani; Piroe

Oxford United possible starting lineup:

Cumming; Kioso, Moore, Brown, Leigh; Goodhram, Brannagan, El Mizouni, Dale; Rodrigues, Scarlett

We say: Leeds United 3-0 Oxford United

Winning nine of their 11 Championship home matches this season, Leeds should be very confident of putting a relegation-threatened Oxford to the sword this weekend.

Written by

Carter White

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