Paul Moody scores from the spot against Birmingham in April 1994

Oxford United welcome Birmingham City on Saturday hoping to gain a first home win for Matt Bloomfield after two goalless draws at the Kassam and a rather wonderful win in Leicester last weekend.

Unfortunately, and I hate to say it, Oxford’s home record against Birmingham isn’t the best, with four wins and six defeats from the 13 games played in the Shire.

United haven’t beaten Brum in Oxford since April 1994 (see photo) when goals from Johnny Byrne and Paul Moody helped the U’s to a 2-0 win on their way to relegation from the second tier.

Recent meetings between the sides have been played in the country’s second city, with the Blues not having played in Oxford since December 1998 (a game best forgotten) when Dean Windass’s late goal was greeted with something akin to indifference from whatever crowd was still in the ground.

Birmingham also had the audacity to inflict a 3-0 defeat on Oxford in March 1985 as United were on their way to the Second Division title. It was the Yellows’ only home league defeat of the season.

If you wish to wallow in pain, HERE are all of Oxford’s results against Birmingham.

On this Date

If you’re the kind of person that believes in omens, then you’d probably be reasonably pleased to have a game on 31st January. United have played just eight times on this date, but have won six and drawn one of them. The only defeat was a Southern League game at home to Merthyr Tydfil in 1959.

United’s first game on 31st January was also in the Southern League, a 3-0 win over Bath City in 1953, while the first Football League game was a goalless draw at Millwall in 1970.

Oxford’s best result on this date was arguably the 3-1 win at Nottingham Forest in the second tier in 1998.

United’s most recent 31st January game was in 2017, when they beat Bradford City 2-1 at home in the Football League Trophy.

Take a look at all United’s 31st January results HERE.

The Game

United go into Saturday’s game unbeaten in three under Bloomfield, while Birmingham have also won one and drawn two of their last three games. The win was 2-0 at the Championship’s whipping boys Sheffield Wednesday, while the draws were at Swansea City and, last Saturday, at home to Stoke City.

Birmingham are 13th in the table, one point and one place above Leicester, while United remain second from bottom and three points from safety.

In Jack Robinson, Brum have the only player in the Championship to have received two red cards this season, although he won’t be available to play against Oxford, not through suspension but due to a hamstring injury.

Alex Cochrane, Demarai Gray, Ethan Laird, and Lee Buchanan are all also absent due to injury. However, Birmingham have been active in the January transfer window, most recently signing Carlos Vicente from Sporting Alaves after bringing in Kai Wagner, Jhon Solis, Ibrahim Osman, and August Priske.

United have no new injury concerns following their win at the King Power, with Tyler Goodrham out for the remainder of the season and still no news on Hidde ter Avest or Nik Prelec. Przsemysłav Płacheta is rumoured to be available again this Saturday, while new loan signing Jamie Donley may also be ready to return following his triple injury at Milton Keynes in the FA Cup.

Michał Helik’s status is currently unknown, but following Sam Long’s performance at Leicester it is difficult to see him winning his place back, especially as Ben Davies also had a fine game in the centre of defence. Whether or not Bloomfield sticks with the three-at-the-back formation that succeeded on Saturday remains to be seen.

They say – whoever they might be – that you shouldn’t change a winning team, but there’s also a lot to be said for freshening things up. However, given Mark Harris put in his best performance of the season and with excellent games for Myles Peart-Harris and Stan Mills either side of him, I’d be surprised if any of them failed to start.

If the formation does change to four at the back, it will probably be Davies that gives way, with the most likely option being Brian De Keersmaecker returning to midfield alongside Cameron Brannagan and Jamie McDonnell.

With the likes of Will Lankshear, Jeon Jin-Woo, Yunus Konak, Ole Romeny, Will Vaulks, and Matt Phillips possibly among the substitutes, United are looking stronger every game. There is a concern about lack of depth in the defence, and Oxford have been linked with a bid for Faroe Isles international centre back Andrias Edmundsson from Wisła Płock, but given the Polish side’s reluctance to sell it is unlikely to happen before deadline day on Monday, if at all.

So, where does that leave us? It leaves us with a decent opportunity to get more points on the board, that’s where. If United can take the momentum from last weekend into Saturday’s game and continue with the same high intensity and well-organised press we saw at the King Power, it promises to be a good day’s entertainment.

And that’s the rub. So far this season, Oxford have been unable to put together back-to-back wins. Indeed, even positive back-to-back performances have been rare, so this will be a litmus test for Bloomfield’s new broom. If Oxford can match the display from the Leicester game, then we can say for certain that things have improved. If it turns into another insipid defensive display littered with mistakes, then we will have to question our ability to survive at this level this season.

But let’s go into the game with positive vibes. Bring the noise.

UTFO