Oxford United plays their third straight home game—against Blackpool—after the international break.
The U’s have triumphed over Bristol Rovers and Shrewsbury at Grenoble Road in their last five league fixtures.
Despite their inconsistent play this season, Blackpool defeated Stevenage 3-0 to climb to sixth place in League One. In their last two road games, the Seasiders have also gone undefeated and have gained four points. Greg Leigh represented Jamaica for the entire ninety minutes in both games, and Fin Stevens finished a game for the Wales U21s. Stanley Mills is eligible after his red card was overturned, however the U’s are without Oisin Smyth due to suspension and Marcus Browne and Kyle Edwards due to injuries.
For the visiting team, Jordan Gabriel, Matty Virtue, and former U.S. loanee Kyle Joseph are all missing. Their leading scorer, Jordan Rhodes, is another former Oxford striker with seven goals.
The two teams had met in the playoff final the previous two times, with Blackpool winning 3-0 away from home and drawing 3-3 in the second leg. The U’s lost both of their meetings against the Seasiders during the same season. Oxford had prevailed in the two teams’ last three home meetings before that. Projected lineup: Fin Stevens, Billy Bodin, Ruben Rodrigues, Mark Harris, Sam Long, Greg Leigh, Marcus McGuane, James Beadle, Ciaron Brown, Elliott Moore, and Cameron Brannagan.
