Aiming to improve their position in the battle at the bottom end of the League One table, Burton Albion will play host to Oxford United on Saturday.

The Brewers currently sit 23rd in England's third tier with a three-point gap to safety, while their opponents dropped to 12th spot after a defeat on Tuesday.

Match preview

Burton Albion had to endure a poor first half to the League One campaign, and following a defeat to Barnsley prior to Christmas, they sat on just 16 points from their opening 22 outings.

Dino Maamria's side did then bounce back with consecutive league victories for the first time this season, as they beat Lincoln City and Forest Green Rovers 3-0 and 2-1 at home and away respectively to move closer to safety, only to suffer a 5-0 thrashing away at Morecambe in the following encounter.

After dropping out of the FA Cup in the third round at the hands of Grimsby Town, the Brewers returned to league action at home to Shrewsbury Town two weeks ago with the aim of returning to winning ways, but they were again on the wrong end of another heavy beating as Christian Saydee hit a brace and Luke Leahy and Chey Dunkley added goals in a 4-0 away victory.

Having now seen their last two league outings postponed, Maamria's side will be desperate to reverse their fortunes and put the recent thrashings behind them in their bid to bridge the three-point gap to safety at the weekend.

They welcome an Oxford United side who are looking to climb back towards the playoff fight after a harmful defeat last time out.

Following an eight-game unbeaten run in the league heading into Christmas, Karl Robinson's side have now won three and lost three of their last six outings in England's third tier, with defeats to Ipswich Town and Exeter City and a victory over Charlton Athletic being following by a 3-0 beating in the FA Cup third round by Premier League leaders Arsenal.

The U's would return to league action with a trip to Fleetwood Town and a tough home contest against third-placed Ipswich Town, and they prevailed with 2-1 victories in both to move closer to the top six, as Ciaron Brown hit a 90th-minute winner in the former and Cameron Brannagan netted the decisive goal seven minutes from time in the latter.

With renewed confidence from their eighth and ninth three-point hauls of the campaign, Robinson's men faced another difficult test away at Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday as they set out to make it three on the bounce and apply further pressure on the likes of Barnsley and their opponents, but they would fall short as Sam Vokes and Anis Mehmeti hit first-half goals to condemn the U's to a 2-0 defeat at Adams Park.

Such a result saw Oxford drop to 12th spot and eight points behind sixth-placed Barnsley, and they will now be keen to bounce back at the weekend to remain in the fight for a playoff place in the coming months.

Team News

Having lost their last three games while conceding nine unanswered goals in the last two league outings, Maamria could look to make several changes to his Burton Albion side for Saturday's contest, with the likes of Sam Winnall, Mustapha Carayol and Joe Powell fighting to come in from the outset, while Sheffield United loanee Jordan Amissah is at risk of losing his place between the sticks to Craig MacGillivray.

The line will again be led by Victor Adeboyejo, who has found the net 11 times in 26 League One appearances since his summer arrival from Barnsley, and Davis Keillor-Dunn, who sits second in their league scoring charts with five goals in 18 games, will hope to earn a place back at the tip of the midfield after dropping to the bench recently.

Traditional centre-back Adedeji Oshilaja has tended to operate in the engine room in recent months, with John Brayford and Corrie Ndaba likely to continue their partnership behind him in the middle of the defence.

Oxford United could call Brandon Fleming back into their starting XI on Saturday, after the Hull City loanee who arrived early in January made an appearance off the bench in the defeat to Wycombe on Tuesday.

He may take Yanic Wildschut's place on the left wing, with Billy Bodin bound to keep his place on the opposite flank, while Matt Taylor is vying to come back in and lead the line having only managed six goals in all competitions so far this season.

It is instead Cameron Brannagan who has been their top scorer this term, with the midfielder finding the net 10 times in 33 appearances thus far, and he will again play a key role in the engine room, likely alongside Marcus McGuane and Lewis Bate.

Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
MacGillivray; Hamer, Brayford, Ndaba, Borthwick-Jackson; Oshilaja, Taylor; Carayol, Keillor-Dunn, Powell; Adeboyejo

Oxford United possible starting lineup:
Eastwood; Anderson, Moore, Long, Brown; Bate, McGuane, Brannagan; Bodin, Taylor, Fleming

We say: Burton Albion 1-2 Oxford United

Burton Albion will certainly be low on confidence after the recent thrashings they have suffered, and with the need to quickly bounce back to stay in the fight in the top half, we back Oxford United to take all three points away from home.

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