Portsmouth to edge clash with Oxford

League One | Preview

25/03/18

Portsmouth have won just three times in their last 12 matches in League 1. Portsmouth defeated Oldham in their last fixture, and Jackett hopes the club have one last promotion push in them. Portsmouth have played well at Fratton Park this term, winning 30 of 57 points possible.

The team is +7 in goals at home and just 19 goals have been conceded to their rivals.

Although Portsmouth have been good at home this term, the team's biggest weakness has been its defence. Portsmouth have allowed 47 scores while the side have tallied 45. Portsmouth's inability to keep goals out has also caused the team to accumulate 17 losses.

The last time Portsmouth played Oxford, the team's porous defence allowed the Yellows to score three goals without reply. Since that August fixture, Oxford haven't had much consistency in the win column. The team is just seven points back of Portsmouth currently and has won just once in their last six matches.

Portsmouth have been reliant on striker Brett Pittman in front of goal this term. Pittman has scored one third of all Portsmouth goals. He scored two in Portsmouth's recent win against Oldham. Pittman's 16 strikes has him second in the goal scoring standings this season.

Oxford haven't been shy in front of goal. The Yellows have tallied 52, but like Portsmouth, keeping the goals out has been the biggest problem. The side has allowed 54 scores and 15 of those goals have come in the team's last nine games. Experienced player Wes Thompson leads Oxford in goals with nine, while James Henry has added a further six.

Oxford will travel to Portsmouth with new manager Karl Robinson in tow. The club appointed him as manager ahead of the fixture. Oxford sacked former manager Pep Clotet two months ago and the club had been using a caretaker manager until Robinson became available.

Regardless of Robinson being appointed as boss, Portsmouth will win this match. Jackett has Portsmouth playing good football at home and the club will secure its 10th win at Fratton Park this term. The team's win will keep them close to promotion, but the club still need a lot of help from the teams around it to reach the top six.

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League One Regular Season

OVERALL TABLE		PTS	GP	W	D	L	+/-
1	Portsmouth	97	46	28	13	5	37
2	Derby County	92	46	28	8	10	41
3	Bolton Wanderers	87	46	25	12	9	35
4	Peterborough	84	46	25	9	12	28
5	Oxford United	77	46	22	11	13	23
6	Barnsley	76	46	21	13	12	18
7	Lincoln City	74	46	20	14	12	25
8	Blackpool	73	46	21	10	15	17
9	Stevenage	71	46	19	14	13	11
10	Wycombe	65	46	17	14	15	5
11	Leyton Orient	65	46	18	11	17	-2
12	Wigan Athletic	62	46	20	10	16	7
13	Exeter City	61	46	17	10	19	-15
14	Northampton Town	60	46	17	9	20	-9
15	Bristol Rovers	57	46	16	9	21	-16
16	Charlton Athletic	53	46	11	20	15	-1
17	Reading	53	46	16	11	19	-2
18	Cambridge Utd	48	46	12	12	22	-22
19	Shrewsbury	48	46	13	9	24	-32
20	Burton Albion	46	46	12	10	24	-28
21	Cheltenham	44	46	12	8	26	-24
22	Fleetwood Town	43	46	10	13	23	-23
23	Port Vale	41	46	10	11	25	-33
24	Carlisle Utd	30	46	7	9	30	-40