Oxford United vs West Ham United Predictions

After impressive wins in their respective divisions at the weekend, Oxford United and West Ham pit their wits and surging confidence against each other in the Carabao Cup this week.

The U’s produced one of the most impressive performances of the season in League One at the weekend in their 6-0 dismantling of Lincoln City at Sincil Bank, a result that prolonged what’s been a sustained period of good form for Oxford.

The rapidly improving Yellows were beaten only once in their last seven games overall since the end of August, and the majority of their fixtures have had supporters on the edge of their seats.

Over 2.5 goals were scored in six of those seven contests – in fact, the games averaged a whopping 3.57 goals per 90 minutes, and we expect similar excitement at the Kassam Stadium on Wednesday.

Oxford’s opponents West Ham, cruised to a 2-0 win against a decidedly ordinary Manchester United team on Sunday, pushing their unbeaten run to six games in the process.

Remarkably, after the defensive lapses that characterised many of their matches last season, West Ham are searching for their 5^th clean sheet on the spin this week, and the Irons have conceded only two goals in six matches overall since their opening day 0-5 battering at the hands of Man City.

The Hammers’ usual flow might be a little disrupted this week however, as Manuel Pellegrini prepares to give some fringe players minutes in a competition that isn’t considered a priority for the club.

Against a weakened West Ham side, a buoyant Oxford United will fancy their chances of causing an upset, and that in turn heightens the chances of Wednesday’s game being an open, entertaining affair.

If you stretch back a little further back beyond Oxford’s recent positive run, the pattern of high-scoring fixtures remains constant. In total, a huge 38 goals were registered in the U’s last 10 matches, with over 2.5 goals scored in all but one game during that sequence.

We think Wednesday’s game has all the ingredients required for another thrilling match, though West Ham’s superior class should ultimately tell. Unbeaten in six matches, the Irons squad is vibrating with self-belief at present, and even with a shuffled pack, they should have enough to see off Oxford.

With that considered, we think the away win and over 2.5 goal combination is an avenue worth exploring for Wednesday’s game, while our correct score prediction settles on a 3-2 Irons victory.