Preview: Oxford United vs. Ipswich Town - prediction, team news, lineups

After beating Fleetwood Town last weekend, Oxford United will try to claim consecutive victories when they welcome Ipswich Town to the Kassam Stadium on Saturday.

Although the visitors are unbeaten in five competitive games, they have drawn their last three matches in League One.

Match preview

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Following a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the third-round of the FA Cup, Oxford bounced back with a narrow 2-1 victory over Fleetwood last Saturday.

Kyle Joseph found the net after the hour mark to cancel out Brendon Sarpong-Wiredu's opener, before Ciaron Brown scored in the 90th minute to clinch all three points for the U's.

After winning three, drawing five and losing two of their last 10 league games, Oxford head into the weekend in 13th position in the League One table.

Although they are separated from the relegation zone and the playoffs by eight points, they could potentially move into the top half of the table with a win this weekend.

Oxford will be keen to offer a better showing than they did in the reverse meeting, which resulted in a dismal 3-0 defeat on Boxing Day.

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Ipswich are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions, while they have only lost one of their previous 12 league games.

However, six of those 10 matches have finished all square, including their previous three league games following a 1-1 draw against league leaders Plymouth Argyle last weekend.

Ipswich Town looked set to claim all three points following Wes Burns's 63rd-minute strike, but they were denied the victory by Bali Mumba's stoppage-time equaliser.

Although they had to settle for a draw, Ipswich are still in third place and chasing automatic promotion, with four points separating them from Sheffield Wednesday, who currently sit in second position.

As well as being the highest scorers in the league, the Tractor Boys also boast the second-best away record in the third tier after picking up 25 points from their 13 away games.

Team News

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Oxford are currently without the services of Marcus Browne and Alex Gorrin, who are sidelined with hamstring and knee injuries respectively.

James Henry and Sam Baldock have recently returned to training, although it remains to be seen whether they are fit enough to feature in the matchday squad.

Despite coming off the bench against Fleetwood to score in his first appearance since November, Kyle Joseph may have to settle for a place among the substitutes as Oxford manage his comeback from injury.

As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon the injured trio of Dominic Ball, Panutche Camara and Tyreece John-Jules.

January signing Nathan Broadhead missed the meeting with Plymouth due to some tightness in his calf, but he is expected to be involved on Saturday, with the striker likely to feature on the bench.

Although Ipswich had to settle for a draw last weekend, McKenna is set to name an unchanged starting lineup against Oxford.

Oxford United possible starting lineup:

Eastwood; Anderson, Moore, Long, Brown; Bate, McGuane, Brannagan; Murphy, Bodin, Taylor

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Walton; Donacien, Woolfenden, Burgess; Burns, Morsy, Evans, Davis; Chaplin, Harness, Ladapo

We say: Oxford United 1-2 Ipswich Town

Ipswich's most recent league win took place against Oxford on Boxing Day, and although we do not think it will be as one-sided as that 3-0 scoreline, we still believe that the Tractor Boys will draw upon that experience to claim all three points.

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