Oxford United vs Rochdale Predictions

When two in form sides face off against each other, it is always interesting to see which one of the teams can impose their game plan on the other in order to come away with the three points. This weekend sees an Oxford United side who are one of the most in form teams in League One come up against a Rochdale side who have certainly found their feet in recent outings.

Oxford United can be guilty of being somewhat inconsistent in recent seasons, but they appear to be putting all of that to bed in the first quarter of this season. United are undefeated in their last seven league matches and, thanks to that run, they are now just seven points off top spot. However, the top of League One is extremely tight and they know that they must maintain their form for quite a while longer if they are to challenge for promotion come the end of the season.

Rochdale are two points behing the U’s in the table after a win against fellow strugglers Shrewsbury on Saturday. Keith Hill’s departure from the Dale means that Brian Barry-Murphy is the caretaker-manager, but he will be boosted by the return of midfielder Ethan Hamilton after suspension. The on-loan Manchester United player is expected to return while Kgosi Ntlhe and midfielder Oliver Rathbone were both in the starting line-up against the Shrews after long injury lay-offs.

With both sides finding their feet over recent weeks, it should prove to be a thrilling affair in Oxfordshire this weekend. The hosts have the best record on home soil and one of the best offensive records in the division, while the visitors have scored seven times in their last three matches so they certainly know where the net is. Goals seem to be the order of the day in this one, so we think backing both teams to score represents the best chance of a decent return.

For those of you looking to back a correct score, although the hosts have been excellent on their own patch, we cannot ignore the improvement of the visitors. Given we expect goals and cannot split the two sides, we are going with this one finishing in a 2-2 draw.