Promotion-chasing Oxford United will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in League One when they head to basement side Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday night.
Oxford will enter the contest off the back of a 4-0 victory over Charlton Athletic, while Crewe suffered a 2-0 defeat at Wigan Athletic last time out to remain rooted to the bottom of the division.
Match preview
© Reuters
Tuesday's 2-0 defeat at Wigan made it six straight League One losses for Crewe, who are rooted to the bottom of the table, picking up just 22 points from their 32 matches of the 2021-22 campaign.
The Railwaymen had been due to face Portsmouth on Saturday, but the pitch at the Mornflake Stadium was deemed to be unplayable following the damage caused by Storm Eunice.
The strugglers have two games in hand on 23rd-placed Doncaster Rovers and are only three points behind the side directly above them, but they are nine points from the safety of 20th position, and the matches will start to run out for the club in the coming weeks.
Crewe have only won five of their 32 league games this season, which is a concern considering what they will need to move out of the relegation zone, while they have picked up just a single point in League One since overcoming Charlton Athletic on January 12.
David Artell's side have the worst away record in the league this season but have managed to pick up 16 points from their 15 home matches, which is not a disastrous record considering their spot in the table.
© Reuters
Oxford, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of an impressive victory over Charlton on Saturday, scoring four answered goals in the English capital to secure all three points and return to winning ways following back-to-back losses to Accrington Stanley and Bolton Wanderers.
Matt Taylor hit a first-half brace at the Valley, while Sam Baldock and Cameron Brannagan were also on the scoresheet for the U's, who currently sit fourth in the League One table.
A record of 16 wins, eight draws and nine defeats from 33 matches has brought Oxford 56 points, which has left them inside the playoffs by a single point, and they are the leading goalscorers in the league this season (60), with sixteen of those being scored by Taylor.
Karl Robinson's side finished sixth in League One last term, losing to Blackpool in the semi-finals of the playoffs, and they will be desperate to make the step into the Championship for next season.
Oxford have struggled for consistency on their travels this term, though, collecting 22 points from 16 matches, boasting a record of six wins, four draws and six defeats.
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- D
- W
- L
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Crewe will hope to have Ryan Alebiosu available for selection on Tuesday, with the on-loan Arsenal defender battling to overcome the back problem that he picked up in the defeat at Wigan.
Having not played at the weekend, the home side should be fresh, and with no new injury problems, head coach Artell could decide to select the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle against the Latics.
Travis Johnson is on standby to feature at right-back if Alebiosu does not make it, though, and Callum Ainley is an option for change in midfield.
As for Oxford, head coach Robinson has plenty of options in the final third of the field, with Sam Winnall featuring off the bench against Charlton after netting twice for the Under-23s last week.
Marcus Browne also featured in the clash with Cardiff City Under-23s and could potentially be on the bench for this match, but James Henry and Billy Bodin remain doubts.
The visitors could ultimately be unchanged from the side that started against Charlton, with Baldock and Taylor being joined in an attacking area by Gavin Whyte.
Crewe Alexandra possible starting lineup:
Richards; Alebiosu, O'Riordan, Offord, Uwakwe; Lowery, Murphy, Griffiths; Agyei, Long, Sambou
Oxford United possible starting lineup:
Stevens; McNally, Moore, Long; Williams, Brannagan, Kane, Sykes; Baldock, Whyte, Taylor
We say: Crewe Alexandra 1-3 Oxford United
Oxford are full of goals and will have been boosted by their impressive win at Charlton on Saturday. Crewe will be the fresher of the two sides, having not played at the weekend, but we are still expecting the away team to have too much quality in this contest, predicting a comfortable success for Robinson's side.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Oxford United win with a probability of 62.38%. A draw had a probability of 20.6% and a win for Crewe Alexandra had a probability of 17.01%.
The most likely scoreline for a Oxford United win was 0-2 with a probability of 10.28%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (10.03%) and 1-2 (9.95%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.71%), while for a Crewe Alexandra win it was 1-0 (4.74%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 10% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Oxford United would win this match.
