Plymouth Argyle and Oxford United meet at Home Park on Saturday afternoon at a time when they are separated by just one point in the Championship table.

The teams – who are in 21st and 17th place respectively – are each on a run of four matches without a win.

Match preview

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Having conceded 10 goals in away fixtures at Norwich City and Bristol City, Wayne Rooney is aware that he faces a battle to retain the support of Plymouth’s fanbase.

Plymouth now possess the worst defensive record in the division with 38 goals being shipped from 18 games, five more than any other team.

Nevertheless, Rooney received the backing of the club’s hierarchy earlier this week, the Pilgrims still sitting above the relegation zone by two points ahead of a home fixture.

Their form on the South coast has been outstanding, Plymouth accumulating 15 points from their eight fixtures at Home Park and suffering just the one defeat.

That said, given a number of late heroics from his side, Rooney knows that there may come a time when their luck runs out if they do not start to take control of more matches.

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Like Plymouth, Oxford are another team who will simply be satisfied with sitting outside of the bottom three at this stage of the season.

However, Des Buckingham‘s side are currently on a run of just one win from 13 games, that success coming by a 1-0 scoreline at home to struggling Hull City.

Ten goals were shipped in three games against Watford, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United before they earned a valuable 1-1 draw versus Millwall last time out.

Their away form remains a major issue, though. Just two points and seven goals have been recorded from eight games, conceding 16 goals in the process.

Plymouth Argyle Championship form:

Oxford United Championship form:

Team News

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Plymouth boss Rooney must decide whether to stick with a back four or revert to a three, his decision process not helped with Adam Forshaw serving a suspension.

Jordan Houghton also needs to be assessed after picking up an injury in that game, with Darko Gyabi almost certainly coming back into the engine room.

Rami Al Hajj may be included in a creative role, while Andre Gray and Michael Obafemi are pushing to replace Ryan Hardie in attack.

Meanwhile, Ruben Rodrigues, Idris El Mizouni and Mark Harris are all in contention for recalls to the Oxford XI.

None of Joe Bennett, Kyle Edwards, Louie Sibley and Siriki Dembele are in a position to return from injury.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Grimshaw; Palsson, Pleguezuelo, Gibson, Ogbeta; Issaka, Gyabi, Randell, Al Hajj, Mumba; Obafemi

Oxford United possible starting lineup:
Cumming; Long, Moore, Brown, Leigh; Phillips, Vaulks, Brannagan, Placheta; Goodrham; Harris

We say: Plymouth Argyle 2-1 Oxford United

On paper, this has all the makings of being a tight contest. However, there is no comparison when it comes to Plymouth’s home record and Oxford’s efforts away from the Kassam Stadium, and Rooney’s side are the clear favourites to prevail here.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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