Oxford United are the visitors this weekend to Highbury in Sky Bet League One, and we have all you need to know ahead of the match on the Fylde Coast.
Fixture: Fleetwood Town v Oxford United
Competition: Sky Bet League One
Date: Saturday 12th January 2019
Kick-Off: 15:00
Venue: Highbury Stadium, Park Avenue, Fleetwood, FY7 6SP
Referee/Officials: Andy Haines (Referee), Matthew Bristow, Wade Smith, Anthony Moore.
FLEETWOOD TOWN
Last five results in all competitions: L D L W L
League position: 12th on 34 points
Club’s top goal scorer: Paddy Madden (14 goals in all competitions)
Fleetwood Town will be looking to bounce back after a last-gasp home defeat to AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup last weekend. The Cod Army will be confident they can do so against Saturday’s opponents Oxford United, who sit 10 places and eight points below them in the League One Table.
There has been plenty of transfer activity at Highbury this week, with right-back Lewie Coyle extending his loan deal and Ashley Nadesan returning from Carlisle. Bobby Grant and Chris Long have both left the club, while Kyle Dempsey has joined Peterborough on loan until the end of the season.
Paddy Madden will make his 50th appearance for Fleetwood if he features. The Irishman has scored 20 goals in all competitions since joining 12 months ago, including a late penalty which sealed a 2-0 win at the Kassam Stadium in August.
Striker partner Ched Evans will be unavailable as he starts a two-match ban.
OXFORD UNITED
Last five results in all competitions: D L L L L
League position: 22nd on 26 points
Club’s top goal scorer: James Henry (11 goals in all competitions)
It’s been a miserable season so far for Oxford United, who sit in the relegation zone after four games without a victory over the Christmas period. A decent FA Cup run had provided some measure of relief until Karl Robinson’s men were knocked out by Brentford at the weekend.
A trip to Highbury is not something that will be looked upon with relish by Oxford fans. The U’s have never tasted victory against Fleetwood, despite the clubs meeting nine times since January 2013. Oxford are also the only side yet to win away from home in League One this campaign.
James Henry (11 goals) and Marcus Browne (seven) are the visitors’ chief threats in front of goal, while Cameron Brannagan, who was on loan at Highbury during the 2016/17 season, will look to pull the strings in midfield.
One to watch: James Henry
Henry came through the academy at Reading, making his debut for the Royals in September 2007 in a League Cup defeat at Anfield. After struggling to break through at the Madejski, Henry moved to Millwall on a permanent deal in 2010 after two successful loan spells.
The midfielder enjoyed three-and-a-half productive years in south-east London, before fellow Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers snapped him up in December 2013. Henry would go on to make 107 appearances at Molineux but after finding himself surplus to requirements in 2016/17, he was loaned out to League One Bolton Wanderers.
Since signing for Oxford United 18 months ago, Henry has reinvented himself as a goalscoring midfielder. He was joint top-scorer for the U’s with 11 goals in all competitions last season, a tally he’s already matched this campaign.
Joey Barton:
"Karl is someone I've got a good relationship with. Obviously, I've picked his brains about management before I took the job and I speak to him on a regular basis.
“He's somebody who I think tries to play the game in the right manner, his teams always want to play football and he's a manager that has done really good things in the game.
“I've got a tremendous amount of respect for Karl and his team and I know that we're in for a tough game. This league table has shown there's some big clubs down that bottom end, sides that probably had ambitions at the start of the season to be in the play-off picture.
“The previous game against Oxford was my first away win as a manager but it’s another test that we have to be absolutely focused on and we have to be miles better than what we were in key stages on Saturday.”
Karl Robinson:
“I said to the players that we would use the last two games to build. There were things we over-compensated on against Brentford and maybe under compensated at Cheltenham. The two games were a bit disconnected but we got what we wanted out of them and it’s important we concentrate on the league now on Saturday.”
"He [Joey Barton] has done really well which isn’t a surprise to me. What people maybe don’t realise is how dedicated he is, and that’s half the battle. The more the dedicated you are, the more you learn and look in to things, the more you take from it. He wants to learn all the time; so it wasn’t a surprise that he has done well.”
Ticket information
Home supporters can purchase tickets for the game in person, either at Poolfoot Farm or in the club shop at Highbury Stadium. You can also buy tickets online here.
See the ticket prices for the match against Oxford below:
ADULTS - £20-24
SENIORS/UNDER 25s - £15-19
UNDER 16s - £5-8
UNDER 5s – FREE
Betting
Fleetwood edge the betting ahead of this Sky Bet League One fixture. The Cod Army are 7/5 to extend their winning run against the U’s to seven games.
If you fancy Oxford to pick up their first win of the season away from home, Karl Robinson’s men are currently priced at 17/10, with the draw at odds of 12/5.
Town have kept a clean sheet against Oxford in each of the last three meetings between the sides, so if you’re backing Alex Cairns to manage a fourth shut-out, back Fleetwood to Win to Nil at 3/1.
The correct score group betting gives you odds of 9/4 for Fleetwood to win 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 – if any of those results come in, you win.
Find more odds on Sky Bet please click here. Please bet and gamble responsibly.