Both looking to rubber-stamp their second-tier statuses for another year, Oxford United and Queens Park Rangers will clash at the Kassam Stadium on Wednesday night in the Championship.
The U’s recorded a shock success over Sheffield United on the weekend, whilst the R’s were forced to share the spoils at home against Cardiff City.
Match preview
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After returning from the final international break of the 2024-25 campaign with a 2-1 defeat at the Teesside base of Middlesbrough on March 29, Oxford United kick-started their April schedule with a surprise victory, sentencing Sheffield United to only their seventh loss of the term.
The U’s secured the points during a productive first half at the Kassam Stadium on the weekend, when former Birmingham City trickster Siriki Dembele fired past the Blades, with the winger posting only his third goal contribution in the Championship across 24 appearances this season.
Winning two of their last three second-tier battles, Oxford have moved up to 18th spot in the Championship standings ahead of Wednesday night’s hosting of QPR, a comforting four points above 22nd-placed Cardiff in the highest of the relegation spots with six games left to play.
As is the case with the large majority of promoted sides, Gary Rowett‘s troops have been highly reliant on their home form as they look to avoid an immediate return to League One, with the U’s collecting a staggering 35 of their 45 second-tier points at the three-stand stadium so far.
Goals have not always been easily accessible for Oxford this term, as shown by the leader of their Golden Boot race Mark Harris, who leads the rest of his teammates with six Championship strikes, despite finding the net just once during the opening three months of 2025.
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Following their miraculous escape from the dreaded bottom three during the 2023-24 campaign, Queens Park Rangers are heading towards another relegation dogfight at the end of this season, one in which the West London outfit would have loved to fight for the playoffs in.
In reality, the R’s are currently in the midst of a worrying seven-game winless run in the Championship following a lifeless goalless draw at Loftus Road versus fellow strugglers Cardiff on Saturday afternoon, when both sides failed to create enough clear-cut chances to win the contest.
After the collecting of a mere two points from their last seven second-tier battles, QPR have slumped down to 16th spot in the Championship table ahead of this weekend’s trip to Oxford, five points ahead of the bottom three with 18 points left to fight for.
The R’s will need to quickly improve their away performances to possess any chance of earning a positive result at the Kassam Stadium, with Marti Cifuentes‘s troops in the middle of a six-game losing streak on the road in the Championship.
Team News
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Oxford remain without the services of centre-back Elliott Moore, who suffered a hamstring injury in March and is a doubt to feature again this season.
The U’s options in defence are further reduced by the absence of left-back Gregory Leigh, with the veteran a regular contributor at the top end of the pitch this term.
Seeing red during the dramatic 2-2 draw with Leeds United on March 15, QPR attacker Koki Saito will serve the final game of his suspension on Wednesday.
The R’s are unable to call upon the talents of Ilias Chair, who has been limited to just 25 appearances this season in the Championship owing to a number of injury issues, the latest of which being a hamstring strain.
The visitors are battling on with a limited number of selections at the back, with Jake Clarke-Salter in the medical room because of a hip problem.
Oxford United possible starting lineup:
Cumming; Ter Avest, Nelson, Helik, Brown; Brannagan, Vaulks; Placheta, Romeny, Dembele; Harris
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Dunne, Edwards, Morrison, Paal; Field, Colback; Yang, Dembele, Bennie; Lloyd
We say: Oxford United 1-0 Queens Park Rangers
After earning three points off Premier League-chasing Sheffield United on the weekend, Oxford United will be confident of repeating the trick this time around.
The U’s are excellent on their own patch and the R’s struggle on the road, so we are envisaging a home success at the Kassam on Wednesday night.
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