PREVIEW | Cardiff City vs Oxford United - team news, lineups, predictions | OneFootball

Cardiff City and Oxford United go head-to-head at Cardiff City Stadium this Easter Monday in the EFL Championship.

The Bluebirds are in a tough spot in the second tier - sitting 23rd in the division with just 42 points. The Welsh club are now also managerless having sacked Omer Riza in the wake of their 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United on Good Friday - Aaron Ramsey taking over on an interim basis.

Oxford have been sucked into the relegation dogfight, but are still five points clear of the drop zone with three to play - so three points would be huge for both sides here. Gary Rowett's U's lost 0-1 against leaders Leeds United last time out.

The last meeting between the two teams ended with Oxford winning by the odd goal in five (3-2).

The Fan Zone

Tomas Taylor: I don't think any of us were expecting Cardiff to get a win against Sheffield United on Good Friday, but the manner in which we lost was a tough one to take. In the first half an hour I thought we looked okay, but giving away a needless goal killed any momentum we had going for us.

What frustrated me the most was how we saw enough of the ball in both halves and could've got things going, but had no intention to put any decent chances together. The players mainly stood around looking uninterested and were almost just waiting for goals to happen. Yousef Salech and Yakou Meite are both big presences to have in the box, but we crossed it very little and didn't play to our strengths.

Sheffield United were far from great, and a good team would have beaten them, but we're not a good team. Once again an opposition team looked nervous and could have been there for the taking, but we didn't capitalise or step up to the occasion. It's been the story of the season, and our lack of ability to step up when it matters most could cost us in our last three games of the season. Every game that passes this year makes me miss Neil Warnock and that last promotion team just that bit more.

We look like a team that has accepted that we're going down, and I can't see the performance changing a great deal on Monday. Oxford will be all but safe with a win and I can see them being far more up for the occasion than us. It'll likely be a similar affair to the Stoke game a few weeks ago, and I predict it will be a similar scoreline.

Prediction: 0-2

Stephen Gillett (Playmaker Stats on Oxford): This is a huge game for both sides and, as Tomas has mentioned above, Oxford will know that three points in south Wales will guarantee them Championship football next season.

Under Rowett, Oxford have been competitive and capable of causing any team in the division problems - especially at home.

The U's have a fantastic chance here against a Cardiff team in turmoil; you just wonder whether they have the attacking tools to get this one over the line? Oxford have failed to score more than a single goal in their last eight games, so they need a hero or two to step up to the plate this afternoon.  Prediction: 1-0

Predicted lineups

Cardiff City: Ethan Horvath, Andy Rinomhota, Will Fish, Dimitrios Goutas, Callum O'Dowda, Sivert Mannsverk, David Turnbull, Chris Willock, Cian Ashford, Will Alves, Yousef Salech

Oxford United: Jamie Cumming, Sam Long, Ben Nelson, Michal Helik, Joe Bennett, Cameron Brannagan, Will Vaulks, Alex Matos, Stan Mills, Tyler Goodrham, Tom Bradshaw

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Cardiff City

Oxford United

Last starting XIs

Cardiff City ( vs Sheffield United 2025-04-18): Ethan Horvath, Will Fish, Calum Chambers, Sivert Mannsverk, Andy Rinomhota, Alex Robertson, Will Alves, Ollie Tanner, Yousef Salech, Callum O´Dowda, Yakou Meité

Oxford United ( vs Leeds United 2025-04-18): Jamie Cumming, Sam Long, Ben Nelson, Michal Helik, Joe Bennett, Will Vaulks, Cameron Brannagan, Przemyslaw Placheta, Alex Matos, Tyler Goodrham, Mark Harris