Preview: Oxford United vs Colchester United - prediction, team news, lineups

Oxford United and Colchester United will battle it out for a place in round two of the 2025-26 EFL Cup in Tuesday's meeting at the Kassam Stadium.

The home side kicked off their Championship journey on a losing note over the weekend, while the visitors had to make do with a point for the second straight League Two outing last time out.

Match preview

Off the back of a 17th-place finish last time out, Oxford will be aiming to move closer to the promotion playoff places this term but suffered a 1-0 loss to Portsmouth in their curtain raiser on Saturday.

Adrian Segecic's opener seven minutes from the half-time whistle was enough to condemn Gary Rowett's men to defeat ahead of their first cup involvement of the campaign against lower league opponents.

Oxford's upcoming assignment will see them face off against Colchester for the first time since 2003, when they were beaten for a third straight meeting after avoiding defeat in the opening two editions of this fixture.

The Yellows will set out to make it past the first round of the EFL Cup for the second season running after a 2-0 triumph over Peterborough last time out before crashing out to Coventry City in the next phase.

Having won just one competitive game on home turf over the last four months, Tuesday's hosts will be keen to get back to winning ways in front of their fans, where they will need to be solid to stand any chance of success.

Colchester fell just three points shy of a place in the League Two playoffs last time out, and much of this was due to their poor form down the stretch, which saw them pick up just two of the final 12 points available.

Danny Cowley's men have carried over their poor form into the new campaign and have dropped points in both of their first two matches following Saturday's 1-1 draw against Oldham.

Unlike their opening fixture against Tranmere, where they came from behind three minutes late on, the U's opened the scoring in the early exchanges this time around but were pegged back before the half-time whistle.

Colchester are now without a win in any of their last six competitive outings dating back to last season, during which they have only managed to find the back of the net on three occasions.

Tuesday's clash kicks off a four-game run in the space of 11 days for the away side, who have league assignments against Shrewsbury Town, Cambridge United, Barrow and Barnet to navigate before the month runs out.

Oxford United form (all competitions):

Colchester United form (all competitions):

Team News

Ole Romeny has endured an injury spell for Oxford since arriving from Utrecht, as the Indonesian international remains sidelined with a foot injury.

Luke Harris is set to miss a fourth straight match with a foot injury and is joined on the hosts' treatment table by defender Ciaron Brown.

Ellis Iandolo is a guaranteed absentee here due to a knee injury that saw him miss Colchester's entire pre-season campaign.

Dominic Gape and Lyle Taylor will also not play any part for the away side, with the latter still awaiting a first appearance since April.

Providing a goal and an assist apiece, Jack Tucker has been directly involved in both of his side's two goals so far, making him one to keep an eye on.

Oxford United possible starting lineup:

Cumming; Spencer, Moore, Helik, Leigh; Brannagan, Vaulks; Mills, Lankshear, Goodrham; Harris

Colchester United possible starting lineup:

Macey; Hunt, Flanagan, Tucker, Thorn; Edwards, Bishop, Perry, Anderson; Lisbie, Williams