Oxford Utdvs.Portsmouth

Meanwhile, the U's will be looking to return to winning ways after drawing three and losing one of their last four Championship matches.

Match preview

Oxford boss Gary Rowett has sparked a significant upturn in fortunes since taking over the reins in December, having won five, drawn five and lost one of his 11 league games in charge.

As a result, the former Millwall manager has taken Oxford from the relegation zone and up to 16th place in the league table, leaving them nine points clear of the bottom three ahead of Saturday's fixture.

However, the U's have lost some momentum in recent weeks, having failed to win any of their last four matches since beating Luton Town 3-2 on January 21.

After drawing with Stoke and Bristol City, Oxford fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat in their away meeting with promotion-chasing Burnley, before they played out a goalless affair in Tuesday's clash against Derby County at Pride Park.

Having competed in back-to-back away games, the U's will be looking forward to returning to the Kassam Stadium where they are yet to lose in Rowett's tenure, with his five home matches producing four wins and one draw.

Oxford will hope home advantage can help them end a six-game winless run in competitive meetings with Portsmouth since recording their most recent victory in February 2022.

Portsmouth are sitting five points behind Oxford in 18th place after they moved four points clear of safety with a successful midweek outing against relegation rivals Cardiff City.

Colby Bishop and Conor Shaughnessy grabbed a goal apiece in the opening 20 minutes, and while Cardiff pulled a goal back through Callum O'Dowda, the hosts stood firm for the remainder of the contest to clinch a 2-1 victory, bringing an end to their four-game winless run.

As a result of that narrow win, John Mousinho's side have collected 26 of their 33 points from their 16 league matches at Fratton Park, highlighting a significant contrast between their fortunes at home and on the road.

Pompey will now head on their travels for Saturday's Championship fixture, with the visitors looking to end a run of seven consecutive away defeats since drawing 2-2 with Swansea City in November.

Meanwhile, their one and only away league victory this season took place back in October when they came from behind to beat Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.

Pompey may have avoided defeat in their last six meetings with Oxford, but they have failed to win each of their last three head-to-head away matches since picking a 1-0 win in February 2021.

Oxford United Championship form:

W

W

D

D

L

D

Portsmouth Championship form:

W

L

L

D

L

W

Team News

Rowett has revealed that Oxford will have to cope without Tom Bradshaw's services for "a good few weeks" due to a knee injury.

Oxford skipper Elliott Moore has returned to training following an adductor injury, but he is expected to return to the matchday squad for at least a couple of weeks.

Winter addition Stanley Mills is pushing for a starting spot after making his debut as a substitute against Derby, while Ruben Rodrigues is also in contention to feature in Saturday's lineup.

As for the visitors, they are expected to be without Ibane Bowat, Jacob Farrell, Paddy Lane, Regan Poole, Jordan Williams and Kusini Yengi.

Freddie Potts is set to miss a second straight game with a calf issue, while Shaughnessy is a doubt after being forced off in the second half against Cardiff.

Hayden Matthews is waiting in the wings to replace Shaughnessy if he fails to prove his fitness in time, and there could also be a starting spot for Terry Devlin following his appearance as a half-time substitute in midweek.

Oxford United possible starting lineup:

Cumming; Kioso, Helik, Brown, Leigh; Brannagan, Vaulks; Mills, Rodrigues, Dembele; Harris

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Schmid; Devlin, Matthews, Atkinson, Ogilvie; Hayden, Dozzell; Ritchie, Lang, Murphy; Bishop

We say: Oxford United 1-1 Portsmouth

Written by

Ben Sully

Previews by email