Neil Slatter (out of picture) heads United’s winner in 1985

Following a trip to Norfolk, United welcome the team from Suffolk this Friday (8pm – why?) looking (possibly in vain) for three points to haul themselves out of the bottom three.

I don’t want to unduly worry anybody, but Oxford’s home record against Ipswich isn’t that bad, with just two defeats (both in cups) from the 14 meetings in the Shire, and no defeats at the Kassam Stadium.

Most recently, in January 2023, United beat the promotion-bound Tractorboys in a game that, it’s fair to say, was a bit affected by the weather. In fact, so thick was the fog, that many in the East Stand hadn’t realised that Yanik Wildschut had scored until it was announced on the tannoy.

The first home meeting between the sides took place in the top flight in November 1985. It is also, arguably, the most memorable, as United found themselves 2-0 down at half time and 3-0 down five minutes into the second half. A quickfire hat-trick from the one and only John Aldridge levelled things up before a late goal by Neil Slatter – his first for the U’s – earned Oxford all three points. This is (probably) the only time that Oxford have come back from three goals down to win a match.

A memorable game from the Ipswich point of view came in April 1992, when a 1-1 draw (with Oxford icon Jim Magilton scoring for the Yellows) sealed Town’s promotion into the top flight ready for the first season of the Premier League.

Oxford’s full record against Ipswich can be seen HERE.

On This Date

Less impressive are United’s results in previous games on 28th November. The U’s have won just three times out of 14 matches, most recently 1-0 in Hartlepool ten years ago.

The last game that Oxford played on this day was a goalless draw with Bolton Wanderers at Grenoble Road two years ago, while the previous game took place during Covid-19 lockdown and therefore doesn’t count. That’s also the only league game that United have lost on 28th November but, as mentioned, it doesn’t count.

United’s best win was a 3-0 trouncing of Preston North End in 1981. That was the first home Football League game on this date, coming 22 years after Oxford’s first match on 28th November: a 3-1 win over Bath City in the Southern League.

You can see all of Oxford’s results on 28th November HERE, should you care.

The Game

I won’t lie, this ain’t gonna be easy. Ipswich are currently fifth in the Championship, while Sheffield United’s 3-0 win over Portsmouth on Wednesday resulted in Oxford dropping into the bottom three again.

The Tractorboys haven’t lost since a 3-0 home defeat to Charlton Athletic on 21st October and have won their last three away games, including 4-1 victories over QPR and Swansea City and a 2-0 win at Hull City last time out. However, they failed to win any of their first four away games.

United, on the other hand, haven’t win since they beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at Hillsborough on 25th October and have only won once at home: the 1-0 win over Derby County on 18th October.

To add to Oxford’s woes, after losing Cameron Brannagan to a calf injury that could keep him out of action for six weeks or more, Ciaron Brown had to be substituted in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Norwich City after feeling a twinge in the groin area. Apparently he took part in training on Thursday, so it remains to be seen if Gary Rowett chooses to risk him or not. At least in Ben Davies Oxford have a decent replacement if necessary,

The rest of the line-up is open to question. Hidde ter Avest played his first game back since injury at the end of August, however he found himself in a wing-back/right midfield role as opposed to his usual right-back position. He is, arguably, United’s best right back (although Brodie Spencer’s injury limits the competition), so could Sam Long’s place be under threat?

Up front, the quartet of Stan Mills, Nic Prelec, Filip Krastev, and Will Lankshear were all on the bench at Carrow Road, although all eventually came on (to great effect, as Krastev scored the 95th-minute equaliser). Were they rested with Friday’s game in mind?

Neither Przsemysłav Płacheta nor Siriki Dembélé featured on the pitch on Tuesday (Dembélé wasn’t even on the bench), so were they being held back for a possible start against Ipswich? It’s all open to question and if we don’t know what the likely line-up will be, it’s unlikely that the opposition will be able to second guess what’s in Rowett’s mind.

The visitors also have injury worries, with former Oxford target Sammie Szmodics unavailable and Jens Cajuste also probably missing out after rolling his ankle at Hull on Tuesday.

It’s difficult to see United getting anything out of this game, to be honest, although Oxford do tend to play better against the teams toward the top of the table (don’t mention Stoke, anyone). Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough was an unlikely point, to be sure, and draws against Coventry City, Leicester City, and Millwall – who were all around the top three at the time – show that the U’s can be tough to beat.

However, we think Ipswich are likely to be too strong so we reckon it’ll be an away win. Let’s hope we’re utterly wrong.