Preview: Accrington Stanley vs. Oxford United - prediction, team news, lineups

An upturn in form has seen the visitors climb to 13th spot in the League One table, having also progressed to the third round of the FA Cup with a victory last weekend, as did their hosts with a triumph over Barnet.

Match preview

After a relatively positive start to the League One season, Accrington Stanley hit a tough run of form October, as they suffered five straight defeats in England's third tier to quickly drop towards the bottom end of the division.

In that time, John Coleman's men conceded 15 goals while only scoring three at the other end, and after putting an end to the run with a draw away at Lincoln City, they would suffer another defeat, albeit not a shocking one, as Stanley lost 1-0 to promotion-hopefuls Sheffield Wednesday.

That came after an FA Cup triumph over Crawley Town, and Coleman's men have now won four of their last five games in all competitions, having then bounced back from the defeat to the Owls with a first league win in eight, beating Cambridge United 1-0 away from home thanks to Harvey Rodgers's goal.

Coleman's men would build on that result with another 1-0 away victory in the following encounter, seeing off Grimsby Town in the EFL Trophy, before they made it three one-goal triumphs on the bounce last weekend, beating Barnet to advance to the FA Cup third round as Ethan Hamilton's 84th-minute goal made the difference.

Having now secured passage in both cup competitions, Stanley will turn their focus back to League One and look for a fourth straight win and a second in a row in the league with a chance to quickly improve on their current position in 19th spot and increase their six-point lead over the relegation zone.

They meet an Oxford United team who also find themselves in a pleasing run of form, with the U's now unbeaten in eight games across all competitions.

Karl Robinson's side made a relatively slow start to the campaign, picking up just 14 points from 13 outings, but they have since added 10 further points to their tally in six attempts, going without a defeat throughout.

An impressive 3-1 win away at Bolton Wanderers was surrounded by draws against Portsmouth, Fleetwood Town and Shrewsbury Town, before they put a sixth three-point haul of the season on the board in a 4-0 thrashing of Port Vale, thanks to braces from Billy Bodin and Matt Taylor.

After progressing past Woking in the FA Cup first round, the U's shared the points with Forest Green Rovers in their last league outing, and they now head into Saturday's game on the back of another cup triumph, having also booked their place in the third round of the FA Cup with a 4-1 thrashing of Exeter City as Billy Bodin again netted a brace alongside goals from Taylor and Cameron Brannagan.

Now also able to turn their attention back to England's third tier, after booking an exciting third-round tie with Arsenal in the new year, Robinson's men will aim to keep building momentum with another victory to climb into the top half and further reduce the gap to the playoff places.

Accrington Stanley League One form:

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Accrington Stanley form (all competitions):

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Oxford United League One form:

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Oxford United form (all competitions):

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Team News

Accrington Stanley will likely remain without captain and key attacker Sean McConville, who leads the way in their side with four league goals so far this season, as he continues to recover from an injury, leaving Shaun Whalley to lead the line.

John Coleman will again deploy a back three, with Baba Fernandes and Harvey Rodgers set to be joined by Doug Tharme to allow Seamus Conneely to operate at the base of the midfield.

After netting a brace off the bench in their FA Cup win over Exeter last week to take his tally to six goals for the season in all competitions, Billy Bodin should come back into the Oxford front line from the outset on Saturday, flanking striker Matt Taylor who has also got on the scoresheet six times.

It is midfielder Cameron Brannagan who leads the way with nine goals so far, including six in League One, and he will continue to play a crucial role in the engine room with the license to join the front three on the attack.

Marcus McGuane will also keep his place in the midfield in Robinson's 4-3-3 setup, with Stuart Findlay and Elliott Moore set to partner up in the middle of the back four.

Accrington Stanley possible starting lineup:

Savin; Fernandes, Tharme, Rodgers; Clark, Conneely, Coyle, Longelo; Hamilton, Leigh; Whalley

Oxford United possible starting lineup:

McGinty; Anderson, Moore, Findley, Brown; Henry, McGuane, Brannagan; Browne, Taylor, Bodin

We say: Accrington Stanley 1-3 Oxford United

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