Football – England – League Two
Tuesday 6th November 2012 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Mid-table Oxford United take on 19th placed Dagenham & Redbridge at the Kassam Stadium on Tuesday night with the home side looking to extend their unbeaten home run to four matches.
Despite a horror run of six straight defeats in September, The U’s still remain in a mid-table position and will be depending on their relatively solid home form to keep them out of relegation worries; recent results at the Kassam have been encouraging with wins over AFC Wimbledon 3-2 and Accrington Stanley 5-0 and they also restricted League Two leaders Gillingham to a 0-0 draw.
Oxford’s home record now stands at 4-1-2 14/9, and another home win tonight could see them within two points of the play-off pack. They will be aiming for a third successive win following wins over Wycombe Wanderers in the league and a 2-0 win at Barnet in the first round of the FA Cup at the weekend, and with Tom Craddock (7 goals), Alfie Potter (4 goals), Sean Rigg (4 assists), James Constable and former Bournemouth forward Jon-Paul Pittman in their ranks, they have plenty of options going forward.
On the subject of Bournemouth, tonight’s visitors Dagenham & Redbridge didn’t fare so well in the Cup on Saturday as they went down 0-4 at The Cherries and thus ended their cup run for another year. It’s now four matches without a win in all competitions, and Dagengham’s away form has been patchy to say the least.
Just one win on the road in their last nine matches (including the end of last season), and you can see why they occupy a lower half position at the moment. The Daggers’ away record stands at 1-3-3 10/14, and only Oxford United, AFC Wimbledon, Aldershot Town and Wycombe have conceded more goals on their travels.
A leaky defence has cost them many a point and indeed they’ve kept just one clean sheet in their last 15 away matches, and against an improving Oxford United side and their attacking personnel I’d say the chances of them keeping a clean sheet on Tuesday night would be slim.
Michael Spillane and Dwight Gayle (4 goals each) are probably Dagenham’s best chances of goals as well as Luke Howell, Luke Wilkinson and Sam Williams (3 goals each), but it’s their defence that is their Achilles heel and I’m expecting Oxford to score at least one goal tonight.
I’ll back Oxford United then to record another home win at a very good price; 2-1 to The U’s perhaps.
Pick: Oxford United straight win @ 2.00 Paddy Power
