PREVIEW: Oxford United hope to escape the bottom three at Preston
· Yahoo Sports
Oxford United could escape the Championship bottom three for the first time since December with a victory over free-falling Preston at Deepdale.
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Paul Heckingbottom’s side have succumbed to the slog of the season and their hopes of a playoff place are fading fast, now sitting 11th in the Championship table after a run of just one win in nine league games.
Oxford have seen their fortunes change in the past month or so and now find themselves just three points off safety curtsey of the chaos at Leicester City and West Brom this season.
Draws to Coventry and Middlesbrough alongside wins against the aforementioned Leicester and West Brom last time out have put the U’s firmly back in contention to survive the drop.
Injuries have been far from kind to them this season, as midfielder Brian De Keersmaecker will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury and Bloomfield also confirmed academy graduate Tyler Goodrham will be absent for the rest of the campaign following surgery on his ankle.
However, Jamie McDonell could return from his injury to feature on Friday, having been a crucial for Bloomfield since his arrival in January.
There could also be a return for defender Brodie Spencer, who has had an injection in his ankle in order to be fit enough to play.
Preston have a short list of injuries to contend with heading into this one, only keeper Daniel Iverson remains a confirmed doubt with a groin injury.
Heckingbottom will have to wait to welcome his number one back meanwhile key players such as Lewis Dobbin and Alfie Devine have been leading lights in the past month or so with both of them tied at the height of the goalscoring charts for Preston.
Youngster Daniel Jebeson and winger Callum Lang have been key to Heckingbottom’s system as-well and the English manager will be hard-pressed to leave those four out of his squad on Friday.
A 2-0 home defeat to Millwall last time out showed Preston what could have been, who instead hope to keep their position in the top half of the Championship table.
Tonight’s game is followed by a set of tricky fixtures including Coventry, Stoke, and struggling Leicester, meaning a win against the U’s will be crucial in arresting their slide down the division.