Playoff hopefuls Coventry City travel to the Kassam Stadium to take on relegation-threatened Oxford United in the Championship on Saturday lunchtime.
The U's will be seeking revenge against the Sky Blues after they suffered a 3-2 defeat in the reverse league fixture at the CBS Arena back in August last year.
Match preview
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Oxford suffered their third defeat in four games and have seen their winless run in the Championship extended to six matches after losing 2-0 at West Bromwich Albion last weekend.
The U's failed to register any of their five shots on target at The Hawthorns and Gary Rowett's side have lost their spark in the final third, as they have now failed to make the net ripple in any of their last four matches.
Rowett has urged his Oxford players to be more clinical if they wish to pick up valuable points and avoid being dragged back into the relegation zone. They have slipped to 18th in the Championship standings and sit eight points above the bottom three with 12 games left to play.
Oxford will welcome a return to the Kassam Stadium where they have accumulated 29 of their 38 Championship points this season, although they have failed to come out on top in their last two games in front of their own fans, most recently losing 2-0 at home to Portsmouth.
The U's head into Saturday's contest without a win in their last four competitive encounters with Coventry, who have been transformed from a relegation-threatened side to playoff contenders since the arrival of head coach Frank Lampard.
Coventry were languishing in 17th place when Lampard took the reins at the end of November, but an impressive run of seven victories in their last eight Championship matches has seen the Sky Blues climb to seventh in the table, just one points behind Blackburn Rovers in sixth.
Since losing 2-0 at home to high-flying leaders Leeds United, Coventry have won their last three league games against Queens Park Rangers (1-0), Sheffield Wednesday (2-1) and Preston North End (2-1), beating the latter on home soil last weekend.
Coventry are now bidding to win four consecutive matches, as well as win four away games in a row, and they will fancy their chances of success on Saturday as they have already beaten Oxford twice this season, including a narrow 1-0 home win in the EFL Cup second round in their most recent encounter at the end of August.
If Lampard's side can continue their positive run of form and secure maximum points during a favourable-looking run against Oxford, Stoke City and Derby County, they would put themselves in a strong position to secure a playoff spot heading down the home straight.
Team News
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Oxford will be without Elliott Moore (groin), Ben Nelson (hip), Tom Bradshaw (knee) and Gregory Leigh (muscle) as they all continue to recover from injury.
Joe Bennett is doubtful after picking up a muscle injury late on in the loss at West Brom, so the U's could be without a recognised left-back this weekend. Either Ciaron Brown or Sam Long could therefore be tasked with filling in on the left side of defence.
Rowett is expected to make changes in attack, with joint-top scorer Mark Harris - who has just five goals to his name this term - Ruben Rodrigues and Siriki Dembele all pushing for a recall.
As for Coventry, Victor Torp will be assessed ahead of kickoff after missing the last two games with a calf injury, while Haji Wright has taken part in training this week and could return to the matchday squad for the first time since November after recovering from an ankle problem.
After missing nine games with a calf strain, captain Ben Sheaf was fit to feature as a second-half substitute in the win over Preston, and the midfielder should be ready to return to the starting lineup this weekend.
Jamie Paterson, who joined the Sky Blues on a free transfer a fortnight ago, will be hoping to make his full debut for the club in attack, but Lampard may be tempted to stick with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Ephron Mason-Clark and Ellis Simms in the final third.
Oxford United possible starting lineup:
Cumming; Kioso, Helik, Brown, Bennett; Vaulks, Brannagan; Placheta, Rodrigues, Phillips; Harris
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Dovin; Latibeaudiere, Thomas, Kitching; Van Ewijk, Sheaf, Grimes, Rudoni; Sakamoto, Mason-Clark; Simms
We say: Oxford United 0-2 Coventry City
Coventry came out on top in a five-goal thriller in the reverse fixture six months ago, and Lampard's in-form side will be regarded as favourites to come out on top once again against an Oxford side struggling to score goals.
Although the U's have fared better on home soil this season, it is difficult to back against the Sky Blues collecting all three points here to boost their playoff push.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
