PREVIEW | Oxford United vs Derby County - team news, lineups, predictions | OneFootball

Oxford United and Derby County meet at the Kassam Stadium this Saturday (12:30, Sky Sports +) as both sides look to end frustrating winless runs in the Championship.

The U's sit 22nd after a 2-1 defeat to Watford, while the Rams occupy 20th place and enter this contest on the back of a 1-1 draw with Southampton.

These two sides' last meeting ended 0-0, and with both teams struggling for consistency, Saturday’s clash promises to be a tight, hard-fought battle at the foot of the table.

The Fan Zone

Daniel Oliveira (Playmaker Stats Editor): It’s been a rocky start to the season for Oxford United, and sitting 22nd in the Championship isn’t where they expected to be.

Home form has been a real problem, with the club still chasing their first league win at the Kassam Stadium - Saturday could be the perfect opportunity to change that.

On the road, there are signs of promise. The win over Bristol City showed Oxford can snatch results away from home, and with Dembélé and Lankshear leading the line, there’s enough attacking firepower to cause problems for Derby.

If the team can tighten up at the back and stay composed in front of goal, this could be the match to secure a much-needed result and kickstart a run to climb clear of the relegation zone.

Prediction: 2-1

Cory Hancock (The Rams Review Podcast): Derby return to action with a trip to the Kassam Stadium to take on Oxford United. The Rams secured a point before the break and will hope to start some momentum after what has been a relatively poor start to the season.

Oxford and Derby both come into the match with just one win in nine, which does not make for great reading. The injury bug that plagued Derby early in the season looks like it is coming to an end. Influential defender Sondre Langas has not featured yet this season, but could very likely play for the first time this week.

John Eustace has made a tactical switch in recent weeks that has seen striker Carlton Morris drop a bit deeper into a "10" role, leaving American international Patrick Agyemang as the lone striker. Agyemang, while still a bit raw, has shown flashes that he can trouble defenders at this level. However, this has moved Morris deeper from goal and his red hot goal scoring form has suffered in recent weeks. Ben Brereton Diaz returns from Chilean national team duty so hopefully his form will pick up as well.

Two bits of interesting off the field news have come out. On loan midfielder Bobby Clark has been linked with a January move to Celtic. And Derby have made some changes in the front office with Head of Talent ID Mark Thomas leaving the club by mutual consent (interesting Thomas joined Derby from Oxford) and Academy manager Matt Hale to exit his role at the end of the season due to personal reasons.

Derby need to use the "restart" of the season to pick up some much needed points and get victories on the board. Results now would do a world of good to ensure that this group is clear away from a relegation fight as winter nears.

Prediction: 0-2

Predicted lineups

Oxford United: Jamie Cumming, Brodie Spencer, Michal Helik, Sam Long, Greg Leigh, Stan Mills, Cameron Brannagan, Brian De Keersmaecker, Siriki Dembélé, Nik Prelec, Will Lankshear

Derby County: Jacob Zetterström, Max Johnston, Matt Clarke, Sondre Langas, Craig Forsyth, David Ozoh, Lewis Travis, Ben Brereton, Carlton Morris, Bobby Clark, Patrick Agyemang

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Oxford United

Derby County

Last starting XIs

Oxford United ( vs Watford 2025-10-04): Jamie Cumming, Brodie Spencer, Sam Long, Michal Helik, Greg Leigh, Stan Mills, Brian De Keersmaecker, Cameron Brannagan, Siriki Dembélé, Nik Prelec, Will Lankshear

Derby County ( vs Southampton 2025-10-04): Jacob Zetterström, Max Johnston, Dion Sanderson, Matt Clarke, Craig Forsyth, David Ozoh, Lewis Travis, Bobby Clark, Carlton Morris, Andreas Weimann, Patrick Agyemang