Fleetwood Town are set to face Oxford City at Highbury Stadium on Saturday 5 November in the FA Cup, and we have all the information you need to know ahead of the 3pm kick-off in our FA Cup match preview.
Fixture: Fleetwood Town v Oxford City
Competition: Emirates FA Cup (First Round)
Date: Saturday 5 November 2022
Kick-off: 15:00
Venue: Highbury Stadium, Park Ave, Fleetwood, FY7 6SP
FLEETWOOD TOWN
The Cods come into this game off the back of a 1-1 draw away at Oxford United on Tuesday night. The Sky Bet League One clash started off fast-paced with Carlos Mendes Gomes scoring in the opening minutes to give Scott Brown's side the perfect start in the match.
The hosts [Oxford United] were behind at the break, but managed to salvage a point on home soil after Gatlin O'Donkor prodded the ball home from close range. It was a solid performance by the red and white army, giving them a good platform ahead of this weekend's FA Cup tie.
Looking at fitness, Shaun Rooney picked up an injury on Tuesday evening and this weekend might come too soon for the defender. Toto N'siala could be back in contention after his time on the sideline. The Club are waiting to hear if Luton Loanees Mendes Gomes and Admiral Muskwe are eligible to play - this would mean the Hatters' couldn't use these players if they returned to their parent club.
OXFORD CITY
The National League South side were also in action on Tuesday night, they won 2-0 at home against Hungerford Town, with former Gilllingham forward Josh Parker scoring the opening goalm and Charlie Rowan grabbing the vital second to secure all three points.
Oxford City currently sit 8th in their league, having picked up 24 points from their opening 15 matches. They have played four matches to reach the First Round proper, with the last being a convincing 4-1 away win at Hornchurch in the Fourth Qualifying Round. In Round Three they had to get through a relay against Plymouth Park, which they won 3-1 in extra-time.
Their opening match in this competition came against Salisbury - which was played on the 17 September 2022 - and City came away 2-1 winners on that occasion to reach the second Qualifying Round.
WHAT SCOTT BROWN SAID AHEAD OF THE GAME
“I know it’s going to be a hard game for us against Oxford; I spoke to Karl [Robinson] as its about five miles down the road from where we were on Tuesday night, and they know them well. We want to make sure we put in a good performance; I do especially as it’s my first FA Cup tie.
“You’ve got to respect everyone; we need to make sure we are on form and not turn up to the game expecting to just win because these things don’t happen. Our game plan changes for every team, in terms of personnel and formations, so we’ve just got to sit down now and study Oxford and will try to forge a plan after picking up pointers on how they play – cup shocks have happened in the past and we don’t want to be one of them.
“Most of the games, they’ve been playing 4-3-3 and have big [Josh] Parker coming in from the left-hand side who has been in League One in the last couple of seasons. We know they’ve got some good players, but we need to make sure we are on our A-game, especially because we are at home.”
IFOLLOW DETAILS
The ONLY matchday package that will be available on the day will be for our monthly and seasonal iFollow subscribers - this is due to broadcasting rights associated with the FA Cup.
Those with subscriptions will be able to listen to the game live via the Audio Match Pass button and will get access to just the commentary, which will be provided by our partners, BBC Radio Lancashire.
There are no video match passes available due to Emirates FA Cup terms and conditions.
