Having got back to winning ways against Blackburn Rovers last weekend, Bristol City and Liam Manning’s focus now turns to Saturday’s clash with Oxford United.
The Robins are in a good place ahead of their trip to The Kassam Stadium. While their away form in recent months has been less than inspiring, they’re eighth in the league, three points adrift of the play-offs and a win could see them move level with the top six, even if only for a couple of hours.
Gary Rowett’s U’s also appear to have found their feet in the second tier. United currently sit 16th in the table, nine points clear of Derby County who occupy the final spot in the relegation zone. While there is still an awful lot of football to be played, they appear to be well-equipped to dodge the drop having won promotion via the play-offs last season.
Oxford come into Saturday’s game unbeaten in their last four matches in all competitions and in their last eight Championship outings. Since Rowett took over from Des Buckingham, his side have been unbeaten at The Kassam Stadium, picking up important wins against the likes of Blackburn, Luton Town and Cardiff City.
When City welcomed the U’s to Ashton Gate earlier this season, it was Manning’s side who came out on top as goals from Sinclair Armstrong and Nahki Wells secured a 2-1 win for the Robins.
Since then, an awful lot of football has been played and even more has changed at Oxford. However, the Reds will be hoping for a repeat of September’s meeting.
Ahead of Saturday lunchtime’s game, Bristol Live spoke to Liam Rice from the Oxford Mail to get the latest insight from The Kassam Stadium.
How would you evaluate Oxford’s season so far?
United’s first season back in the second tier for 25 years has kind of been split into three parts really. The U’s made a promising start under Des Buckingham with impressive wins at home against Norwich City, Preston North End and Stoke City.
Form then tailed off in November, and United endured just one win in 15 matches prior to Buckingham being dismissed but since Gary Rowett came in, the U’s are unbeaten in eight league games and now look much more at home in the Championship.
It’s been an up-and-down season, but United have got breathing space between themselves and the bottom three, and that’s the main thing.
What sort of impact has Gary Rowett had at the Kassam Stadium?
Huge. He’s tightened up the U’s defence and made the team much tougher to break down. Rowett has won all four of his home games and has also started to get United to pick up points on the road. He’s introduced a 4-2-3-1 set-up, which has made the U’s much more solid, and tweaked the side’s approach.
Buckingham favoured a possession-based game, with quick play from the wingers, while Rowett has ensured United are comfortable with mixing it up. They’ll knock balls into the channels, try and go over the top, or go long if they need to.
What has made the U’s so hard to beat at home under Rowett?
Broadly they’ve been taking control of games with an aggressive start. They took the lead against Cardiff City, Plymouth Argyle and Blackburn Rovers, and then twice came from behind to beat Luton Town 3-2 in their last home game. The U’s are much more attack-minded on home soil, compared to away, where it’s more about keeping their shape and working hard defensively, before picking their moments on the counter-attack.
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What sort of reception do you expect Liam Manning to receive from the home crowd?
The reverse fixture back in September allowed fans the opportunity to get a bit of bad blood out of their system. It was good-natured and harmless, but with time ticking on since, the majority of supporters will have probably moved on. Ultimately, Manning laid some of the foundations for United’s promotion from League One and any animosity over his departure is firmly in the past. I expect a frosty reception as opposed to a hostile one.
Who are the key players City fans should be looking out for?
In goal, Jamie Cumming has been a figure of consistency and is capable of making some very good saves. Cameron Brannagan is a fierce competitor in midfield, while Tyler Goodrham and Przemyslaw Placheta provide the attacking threat in the final third.
But for me, Ciaron Brown has been the U’s player of the season. His reliability and quality every week has been impressive for United in the left-sided centre-back role.