It’s League Cup time again at the Kas as Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion try to do what Colchester couldn’t and knock United out of the competition.

To be fair, the Seagulls probably have a better chance of shitting on us from on high and then stealing our chips, given that they’re a far better side than the other U’s. Having said that, they both play in blue and white stripes, so what’s the difference really?

Historically, Oxford are actually better than Brighton, the U’s having won 12 games to the Seagulls’ 10. All the more impressive when you consider that none of the first nine meetings went United’s way. The sides have met twice before in the League Cup, first in 1968 when the Seagulls won 2-0 at the Goldstone, and most recently in 2016, the last time the sides met, when the tie was won 4-2 by Brighton in Minchery Farm.

Of course, neither of those occasions went down in U’s history as much as the most famous cup meeting between the teams, when Third Division Oxford travelled to First Division Brighton in the fourth round of the FA Cup in 1982 and won 3-0 thanks to two Peter Foley goals and one from Keith Cassells. At the time, that was the best winning margin for a team from the third tier against one from the top flight.

Keith Cassells scoring at Brighton in the FA Cup in 1982

United’s full record against the Seagulls can be found HERE.

This is only the third time that Oxford have had a League Cup tie on 27th August. In 2019, United were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Millwall, then in the division above the U’s, with the Yellows winning the subsequent penalty shoot-out. And it’s exactly one year to the day that we travelled in something approaching hope to Coventry City, only to go down 1-0 in a tight game.

Generally, though, Oxford have won more than they’ve lost on this date, with nine wins as opposed to just five defeats. It all proves nothing, of course, and the sides approach the game with a clean slate. Would be nice to get a win though, just because.

Oxford’s previous games on 27th August.

It remains to be seen what kind of teams the sides will field. Last season Brighton made 11 changes for their League Cup tie against Crawley Town and it didn’t do them any harm as they ran out 4-0 winners. Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler has said that Greek strike pair Stefanos Tzimas and Charalampos Kostoulas will both be in the squad and summer signings Diego Coppola and Olivier Boscagli are likely to start. Brighton will be without Adam Webster and Solly March as they recover from long-term knee problems. Georginio is also a doubt with an unspecified injury.

For Oxford, Gary Rowett has hinted that both Nik Prelec and Luke Harris might be involved, most likely on the bench, as they look to make their first appearances of the season. Leo Snowden wasn’t involved in the U21s’ 2-0 win over Northampton Town on Tuesday afternoon and so might be involved on Wednesday evening. With no new injury concerns following the 1-0 defeat at Birmingham on Saturday, any changes that Rowett makes will be for tactical reasons or to get minutes into players that need them, such as possibly Brian De Keersmaecker and Przsemysłav Płacheta.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see this one go all the way to penalties, but in a one-off cup tie anything is possible. We’ll be there for the LOLs.