Peterborough United travel to the Kassam Stadium to face Oxford United on Saturday.
Peterborough United make the trip to the Kassam Stadium to face Oxford United in Sky Bet League One action on Saturday afternoon (3pm) as Darren Ferguson and Karl Robinson, who had a great rivalry when Robinson was in charge of MK Dons, come face to face in the dugout once more.
Oxford have enjoyed some excellent results against sides in the top six with draws against Barnsley and Sunderland a victory over Portsmouth in recent weeks. Posh go into the clash just outside of the play-off positions after last weekend’s 3-1 defeat to Doncaster Rovers but know that three points will keep them in touch with the pack in front of them.
TEAM NEWS
Posh welcome back on-loan attacking midfielder Lee Tomlin from suspension but left back Tyler Denton is unavailable following his dismissal at the Keepmoat Stadium. Joe Ward is expected to travel after a scan revealed no damage following his late withdrawal last week but the Posh boss confirmed a number of other players are nursing injury or struggling with illness.
Oxford could hand Jerome Sinclair a start after he came on to good effect against the Black Cats in their last outing. Mark Sykes is Oxford United’s only injury doubt ahead of their clash with Peterborough United.
The January signing is still waiting for his league debut and did not train yesterday, but United are hoping the 21-year-old will take part in today’s session. Everton loanee Luke Garbutt missed out on the squad last weekend but could return in a more offensive position.
FROM THE GAFFER
“We need to start winning games, that is how you get momentum, I would take a scrappy 1-0 away win on Saturday to get us moving in the right direction. We have been hampered massively in the last two games because we haven’t been able to keep 11 players on the pitch. Oxford have collected some excellent results against the top sides in this division. I am looking forward to seeing Karl Robinson again. He is someone I have respect for. He has been in the game a long time and I have no doubt it will be a good footballing game,” Darren Ferguson said.
FROM THE OPPOSITION
“When we’ve come up against the real (big names) of the division the other results and performances have (largely) been very good. Then you look at our performances at home to Bristol Rovers and Southend, then away to Plymouth, and they were well below par.
“I think the players have had their fingers burnt. They need to understand we’ve recruited the talent and they have to perform on a consistent basis. Winning is difficult, losing is easy and you’ve got to be prepared to go that extra mile,” Oxford boss Karl Robinson said this week.
TICKET NEWS
At 10am on Friday, Posh had sold just under 300 tickets in advance for the clash at the Kassam Stadium. There is no price rise on the day and the game is not all-ticket. A full list of prices can be found here: https://www.theposh.com/tickets/away-tickets/
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
The match referee is Ross Joyce.
KIT COLOURS
Posh will be all in white for the fixture.