Oxford United will be looking for their first League One victory since the end of August when they welcome Accrington Stanley to the Kassam Stadium on Tuesday night.
The home side are currently 13th in the table with 12 points to show from their nine matches, while Accrington occupy seventh, having picked up 13 points from their opening nine fixtures in 2021-22.
Match preview
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Oxford finished sixth in League One last season, which saw them qualify for the playoffs, but they struggled against Blackpool in the semi-finals, ultimately losing 6-3 over two legs.
Karl Robinson's side are expected to push high up the table once again, but there is no getting away from the fact that it has been a disappointing start to the season for the Yellows.
Indeed, a record of three wins, three draws and three defeats from nine matches has seen them collect 12 points, and a goal difference of zero has left them down in 13th position in the table.
Oxford are only two points off the top six at this stage, but they are without a victory in their last four league matches, taking just two points from matches against AFC Wimbledon, Wycombe Wanderers, Cheltenham Town and Gillingham.
The Yellows have won two of their last three matches against Accrington in League One, though, including a 4-1 success in the away fixture last September.
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Accrington, meanwhile, will enter Tuesday's clash off the back of a pulsating 3-3 draw away to Morecambe on Saturday; the visitors twice led in the contest - 2-1 and 3-2 - but Cole Stockton's second of the match in the 81st minute ensured that the points would be shared in Lancashire.
Stanley, who finished 11th in League One last season, are currently seventh in the table, picking up 13 points from their opening nine matches of the campaign.
John Coleman's side are without a victory in the league since a 1-0 home success over Shrewsbury Town at the start of the month, losing to Sunderland and Wigan Athletic in two of their last three fixtures.
Accrington recorded a 2-1 victory when they travelled to Oxford for the corresponding match last term, though, and will be hoping to take advantage of the home side's inconsistency to secure another three points at the Kassam Stadium.
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Team News
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Oxford will again be without the services of Marcus McGuane and Jamie Hanson on Tuesday, but Cameron Brannagan and Elliott Moore both came through the clash with Gillingham following recent injuries, and the pair are expected to retain their spots here.
It would not be a surprise to see Robinson send the same starting XI onto the field, with James Henry and Gavin Whyte again supporting Matthew Taylor at centre-forward.
Mark Sykes and Billy Bodin both came off the bench against Gillingham, though, and will hope to have put themselves in contention for possible starts against Accrington.
As for the visitors, David Morgan is again expected to be absent through injury, but Seamus Conneely returned from a recent issue to feature against Morecambe and should retain his spot here.
Lewis Mansell found it difficult to make his mark at the weekend and could now drop out of the XI, with Harry Pell potentially coming into the side.
There will be no rest for Colby Bishop, though, with the 24-year-old scoring a brace during an impressive performance on Saturday afternoon.
Oxford United possible starting lineup:
Stevens; Long, Moore, Thorniley, Seddon; Kane, Gorrin, Brannagan; Henry, Taylor, Whyte
Accrington Stanley possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Sykes, Nottingham, Sherring; O'Sullivan, Hamilton, Conneely, Butcher, McConville; Pell; Bishop
We say: Oxford United 2-1 Accrington Stanley
Oxford have struggled to get going in the early stages of the season, but there is a lot of quality in the home team's ranks, and we are backing Robinson's side to edge a tight contest at the Kassam Stadium.
Top tip
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 55.07%. A draw had a probability of 23.4% and a win for Accrington Stanley had a probability of 21.49%.
The most likely scoreline for a Oxford United win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.05%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.8%) and 2-0 (9.74%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.13%), while for an Accrington Stanley win it was 0-1 (6.32%). The actual scoreline of 5-1 was predicted with a 0.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Oxford United would win this match.
