Newcastle vs Oxford United Predictions

• Oxford have won just one of their last five away trips.
• Newcastle have seen over 2.5 goals in their last seven FA Cup victories.
• The hosts have conceded in 10 of their last 11 home FA Cup ties.
• Newcastle have scored 3+ goals in five of their last six wins at home in this competition.

Another Upset for Newcastle?

Could Oxford United cause the big FA Cup shock of the weekend? The League One side are on the road on Saturday, visiting St James’ Park in the Fourth Round.

Newcastle haven’t made it past this stage of the competition since Glenn Roeder took them to the quarter-finals in 2006, so there could be confidence from Oxford in this clash.

Happy Hosts

It’s been a great time for Newcastle of late, with the club linked with big January moves as their form turns around. While the cloud of Mike Ashley looms large, on the pitch the Magpies are delivering. Steve Bruce has inspired a group who are struggling in most areas of the pitch statistically, dragging them towards the top half.

That continued in their high-scoring draw at Everton, with two late strikes seeing them sneak a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park. If they could follow that up against Oxford this weekend and move into the next round of the cup, things would be looking very good indeed for Bruce.

The hosts should already be confident, having seen Oxford win only one of their last five away trips.

Streak at St James’

We’ve mentioned the hosts’ poor FA Cup record, which has seen them claim only seven victories in this competition since 2008. The latest of those came in their replay against Rochdale in the last round, with that victory following a similar pattern.

Each of those seven victories have seen at least three goals a game, with Newcastle making a habit out of scoring plenty at home to lower-tier sides. The hosts have also had an issue keeping clean sheets here, with their last 11 home cup ties seeing just one clean sheet.

Meanwhile, the Toon Army have hit three goals or more across five of their last six victories at St James’ in the cup, which has us backing a high-scoring win for Bruce and his men. We’re backing a Newcastle win with over 2.5 goals scored in the match, while a 3-1 home victory is our correct score tip.