Blackburn Rovers travel to Oxford United this weekend as the two sides square off in a Championship encounter at the Kassam Stadium.
Heading into this clash, the visitors sit in fifth position in the standings, having moved into the playoff zone with a win against Portsmouth on Wednesday evening.
Match preview
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Prior to their win against Pompey at Ewood Park in midweek, Rovers had been on a difficult run in the league, which had halted their bid for promotion to the Premier League.
After winning six games in a row between early November to mid-December, they followed that impressive streak up with a disappointing five-match winless run over the festive period, in which they only claimed two points from a possible 15.
Rovers returned to winning ways in the FA Cup last weekend, as they saw off Middlesbrough courtesy of a goal from Andreas Weimann at the Riverside Stadium, before getting back on track in the league against Portsmouth on Wednesday evening.
John Eustace's side are looking to return to the Premier League for the first time in 13 years, but one of the concerns around his side is scoring goals, as Blackburn have netted 31 times in 26 games so far this year.
That figure was significantly boosted by their win in midweek, but prior to that match, only six teams had scored less times than Blackburn this season.
Their leading goalscorer in the league this season is Yuki Ohashi, who has scored five goals in the Championship, highlighting the club's failure to replace Sammie Szmodics, who departed the club for Ipswich Town last summer.
However, what they lack in attack is balanced out by their defence, which is the seventh-strongest in the division, having conceded only 23 times in the Championship so far this year.
After seeing off one team fighting relegation earlier in the week, this weekend they come up against a club only six points off the drop zone themselves, as Oxford look to defy their pre-season odds as one of the favourites to be relegated to League One.
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Despite winning promotion to the Championship via the League One playoffs last year, Oxford decided to part ways with head coach Des Buckingham in December, with the club sitting just one point above the drop zone.
That surprising decision has paid off, with the hosts unbeaten in their five league games under new boss Gary Rowett.
Rowett started his reign with three consecutive victories in the league to help lift the club away from the relegation positions in the league.
However, with two draws in the league since, and a surprising exit from the FA Cup against Exeter City last weekend too, Rowett will want to get that winning feeling back as soon as possible at his new club.
One of his biggest concerns will be the amount of goals his new team has conceded, with the U's shipping 41 goals this season, making them the fifth-leakiest defence in the division.
However, the new boss will take positives from the club's home form this season, and he will look to improve upon their already impressive record at the Kassam Stadium this campaign, with 22 of Oxford's 29 league points coming in home contests.
They will find it difficult up against a Blackburn side that have been beaten only four times in their 12 away games this campaign, with their most recent away outing a 1-1 draw against league leaders Leeds United on New Year's Day - a result that demonstrated Blackburn's ability to compete with the best teams in the Championship.
Team News
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Oxford's Tyler Goodrham is suspended for this fixture following his red card in the recent FA Cup defeat to Exeter.
Ben Nelson (hip), Max Woltman (leg) and Joseph Bennett (ankle) are also sidelined for this match and are expected to return to action later this month.
Elsewhere, Owen Dale and Elliott Moore are both out until next month due to muscle injuries.
Meanwhile, the visitors will also be without several players for the trip to Oxfordshire this weekend, with Scott Wharton (ACL), Zak Gilsenan (muscle), Hayden Carter (knee), Arnor Sigurdsson (thigh) and Lewis Travis (hamstring) all not due back to action until later this month.
In further injury blows for the visitors, their leading scorer Ohashi (ankle) will not play until next month at the earliest, while Harry Pickering (knee) is expected to return to action in March.
Oxford United possible starting lineup:
Cumming; Leigh, Brown, Moore, Long; Brannagan, Vaulks, Phillips, Rodrigues, Dale; Scarlett
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Beck, Batth, Hyam, Brittain; Baker, Tronstad, Dolan, Cantwell, Rankin-Costello; Gueye
We say: Oxford United 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
Rovers are getting back into form after their blip around the Christmas period, so we expect them to pick up three points here against Oxford.
It should be a tight encounter between the two clubs, but the visitors have a strong defence and we think they can grab a goal to seal another important win for Eustace's men.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Tom Humphrey
