A full guide as Oxford United take on Portsmouth in Skybet League 2
United welcome Portsmouth to the Kassam Stadium tomorrow (3pm). Here we present a full guide to the game.
Team News
United will give a debut to midfielder Nicky Wroe after he arrived on loan from Preston North End. Wroe is joined in the squad by 19 year old Reading keeper Jonathan Henly who has signed on a month's youth loan after an injury to Max Crocombe.
However The U's will be without striker Dave Kitson for the visit of his former club. The experienced forward serves the second of his two-game ban after picking up his tenth yellow card of the season against Plymouth on Boxing Day.
Ryan Williams should be available to face his former club despite suffering a knock over the Christmas period, while Josh Ruffels has overcome an ankle problem and should be fit for the visit of Pompey. Matt Bevans is available again after an ankle injury.
See Chris Wilder previewing the game in Yellow Player right now.
The Opposition
Portsmouth could field two new signings this weekend after signing former Reading full-back Nicky Shorey and re-signing striker Jake Jervis following his release by Turkish side Elazigspor. Jervis spent a brief spell on loan at Fratton Park last season before departing for Turkey, while Shorey has joined the club after being released by League One strugglers Bristol City in December.
However, Pompey are likely to be without key midfielder Simon Ferry, who is out with a hamstring injury and manager Ritchie Barker admitted that a lack of options in midfield has restricted his options tactically since taking over as manager shortly before the turn of the year: “You have to play to the personnel you have to be successful and I would say we cannot play 4-4-2 at the moment," he said. "It is a conversation I have had with various others and I don’t want to say too much because I might upset people.
“If you can find somebody who can play in a midfield two they are worth their weight in gold – as are two really good strikers. But we are not a million miles away and will get there in the end."
Tickets
Tickets are still available at advance prices via www.oufctickets.co.uk or from the ticket office on the phone from 10am on Saturday. You save time as well as money by booking in advance.
Getting Here
Despite the extreme weather conditions causing havoc in the city centre this week, all usual services will be running as normal, including our football special buses. Click HERE for more information.
Be well read...
Our matchday magazine is bursting with goodness, as ever. Be sure to pick up a copy of the new album from mod-inspired indie-rockers The Rifles or a download of new real-time war strategy game Company of Heroes from SEGA.
Ryan Williams shares his thoughts ahead of the visit of his old club in our Big Interview, while Andy Whing discusses his career to date. There’s also a fantastic interview with guest of honour, Ray Graydon, who played for the club between 1978 and 1980 before acting as assistant to Maurice Evans in the club’s triumphant Milk Cup-winning side of 1986.
All this and more can be yours for just £3 from sellers around the ground, or available to download from www.matchdayfix.com/oufc. You can download it from 1pm, or if you’re a subscriber the magazine will be available to download from 9am.
Coverage
If you’re unable to make it to the match we’ll have full commentary live on Yellow Player, as well as video interviews with all the major players and post-match highlights. Yellow Player is the ONLY place on the internet that you can hear the game online; join us for all the action.
Betting
The U’s are currently evens to beat Portsmouth with league sponsors Sky Bet, where you can find all the best odds ahead of the big game. Don’t forget that the club makes money from every new sign-up and subsequent bet placed so why not click HERE and give it a go?
There are 53 markets for you to choose from, including:
Correct Score
Oxford 1-0 5/1
Oxford 2-0 15/2
Oxford 2-1 15/2
Oxford 3-0 16/1
Oxford 3-1 16/1
The draw:
Draw 0-0 17/2
Draw 1-1 5/1
Draw 2-2 16/1
Draw 3-3 80/1
Draw 4-4 250/1
First/Last Goalscorers
James Constable 5/1
Deane Smalley 5/1
Sean Rigg 15/2
Ryan Williams 9/1
Or how about Johnny Mullins to score in a 3-1 win at a magnetically attractive 230/1: a £5 bet would win you £1,150
All you need to do to have a bet is CLICK HERE
This Site
www.oufc.co.uk is the perfect place to follow all the action. The official website will have:
- Full team news
- Read a full match report the very second the final whistle blows
- See a full gallery of all the key moments
- See highlights and the manager and key players give their reactions in Yellow Player
- SMS subscribers get all the action straight to their mobiles.
- Or follow @OUFClive on Twitter for all the action wherever you are.
Bring On The Wall
We will continue to push the boundaries of our brand new web feature The Wall throughout Saturday's game. Log on and join the experiment.
Fifty/50
Make sure you buy a Fifty-50 lottery ticket to be in with a chance of winning a big cash prize. Tickets are on sale all around the ground including from the concourse programme sellers, with the draw at half-time.
The result will appear right here as soon as it is made.