Accrington Stanley vs Oxford United on 05 Oct 19 - Match Centre

Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman will be hoping his side can extend their unbeaten run when they face Oxford United tomorrow afternoon at the Wham Stadium, 3pm kick-off.

The Reds have only lost once in their last seven games including last week's 1-0 away victory over Southend United, which secured a first clean sheet since January.

Oxford have been scoring goals for fun as of late with The U's finding the net on 13 occasions in their last three games, including a 4-0 thumping of Premier League side West Ham United in the Carabao Cup.

In the dugout at the Kassam Stadium is Karl Robinson, with the former Milton Keynes Dons and Charlton Athletic manager taking over in March 2018.

Robinson's side currently occupy 10th place in the table, with Stanley sitting in 17th.

Last season saw Stanley complete the double over Oxford with a 3-2 away victory in August, before three second half goals secured a 4-2 win at home in February.

Oxford United Line-Up Against Gillingham (4-3-3)

GK: Simon Eastwood
RB: Chris Cadden
CB: Rob Dickie
CB: John Mousinho
LB: Josh Ruffels
CM: Alex Rodriguez Gorrin
CM: Cameron Brannagan
CM: Ben Woodburn
RW: James Henry
LW: Tariqe Fosu
ST: Matty Taylor

Key Players

Cameron Brannagan - The midfielder came through the ranks at Anfield and made nine first team appearances for the club, with three of those coming in the Premier League. A loan spell at Fleetwood Town in 2017 saw the 23-year-old make 14 appearances for the club, before he left Liverpool permanently in January 2018 to join Oxford. Brannagan has since gone on to make 79 appearances for The U's and has grabbed 11 goals during that time.

James Henry - Henry began his career with Reading before spending time out on loan at Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Norwich City. Following a loan spell with Millwall, the midfielder moved to The Den permanently in July 2010. He went on to make over 150 appearances for the club before departing for Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan in October 2013, with the move then becoming permanent just a few months later. The 30-year-old made over 100 appearances for the club, before joining Bolton Wanderers on loan in August 2016 and then signing for Oxford permanently a year later. Henry has made over 100 appearances for The U's and has grabbed 32 goals for the club, including a brace in last week's 3-0 victory over Gillingham.

Tariqe Fosu - Fosu began his career with Reading and made just the one first team appearance for the club. During his time with The Royals, he spent time out on loan at Fleetwood Town and Colchester United, as well as a short spell on loan with Stanley during the 2015/16 season. The 23-year-old made nine appearances for the Reds and found the net on three occasions. Fosu joined Charlton in June 2017 before signing for Oxford two years later, with the winger having scored five goals in his first 12 appearances for the club.

Team News - Oxford United

Karl Robinson will still be without the injured duo of Jamie Hanson and George Thorne, with both expected to be out for a long while.

Team News - Stanley

Despite returning from injury and scoring the only goal in the 1-0 win over Southend, striker Colby Bishop will face a late fitness test on his ankle injury for this Saturday's match.

To read Stanley manager John Coleman's pre-match quotes, CLICK HERE!

Tickets

Tickets for the match at the Wham Stadium are still on sale and will be available right up until kick-off tomorrow afternoon, CLICK HERE for ticket prices!

Kit

Stanley will be wearing their home kit for Saturday's Sky Bet League One game at the Wham Stadium, CLICK HERE to buy yours!

Match Previews

Accrington Stanley twice came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw at home to Oxford United, with Jordan Clark and Offrande Zanzala both grabbing second half goals for John Coleman’s side.

Both teams started the game well, but the first real chance came for the visitors as the ball broke free just outside the box, but Jerome Opoku timed his challenge perfectly to clear the danger.

The game’s opening goal came just before the half hour mark when former Stanley player Tariqe Fosu took the ball past multiple defenders before firing a shot past Evtimov and into the bottom corner.

Temperatures boiled over just before the break as Opoku had his shirt pulled by James Henry, with both players and Jamie Mackie receiving yellow cards.

After the break Zanzala came on for Dion Charles and the striker instantly started to cause the Oxford defenders problems.

The first equaliser came just before the hour mark as Joe Pritchard’s free-kick was met by Ross Sykes, with the ball then coming to Clark to nod the ball across the line.

Stanley almost turned the game around completely as Sam Finley saw his effort crash back off the post, with the visitors retaking the lead on 70 minutes as Cameron Brannagan fired an effort past Evtimov from outside the penalty area.

However, three minutes later substitute Zanzala produced a brilliant finish on the turn to fire an effort low into the bottom corner.

Stanley midfielder Pritchard must have thought he’d won it for the Reds when he fired a fierce shot at goal but Oxford goalkeeper Simon Eastwood saved the shot well.

The Reds are now four games unbeaten with the next game being an away trip to Oldham Athletic in the Leasing.com Trophy on Tuesday 8th October, 7.45pm kick-off.

Accrington Stanley

Standings

Preview: Oxford United (H)

Stanley 2-2 Oxford United