Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Championship match.
Middlesbrough, currently in second place, return to the Championship with a new manager, which looks a little strange. Rob Edwards has simply moved to the more familiar Wolverhampton Wanderers job in the Premier League. How will the team perform under interim head coach Adi Viveash against Oxford United?
Oxford United
Oxford United, meanwhile, continue to trust Gary Rowett despite sitting 21st in the standings. He arrived in winter last season and kept the newly promoted side up. Once again, survival is all that is really expected from the club. They have already had a run of three straight defeats (at the start of the campaign). Now the hosts are on a sequence of two losses in a row. One of those, incidentally, may hint at what to expect against Middlesbrough: in round 14 they faced their direct rival Stoke City (0:3).
Middlesbrough
Of course, Rob Edwards might have been tempted to stay and take another club up to the Premier League, having already done so with Luton Town, but the chance to take charge of the club where he had played and worked proved more attractive. He did not leave for nothing: Wolverhampton Wanderers paid a £3 million compensation fee, and Middlesbrough are now looking for a permanent replacement. Adi Viveash was part of Edwards’s staff, so the approach and tactics should not really change for this match. The team rarely slip up, even away from home: they have suffered only two defeats in eight away games.
Oxford United vs Middlesbrough Prediction
For a side currently occupying a promotion place to the Premier League, Middlesbrough do not score many goals: 19 in total, or 1.3 per game. They stay so high thanks to their defence, having conceded only 13 times. Nineteen of the 32 goals in their matches have come in away games, but that is still fewer than two per match. They only lose when they fail to score. Oxford United concede an average of 1.5 goals per game, so the visitors look about 80% likely to score here and therefore should avoid defeat.
