Newcastle United will be looking to progress into the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2005/06 when they welcome League One outfit Oxford United to St. James’ Park on Saturday.
Steve Bruce’s side needed a replay with Rochdale in the previous round to advance, while Oxford cruised past Hartlepool to set up a clash with Premier League opposition.
The Magpies are unbeaten in their last three league outings and come into this game on the back of a draw with Everton. After securing an injury-time winner against Chelsea, Florian Lejeuene scored a late brace to rescue a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park.
Newcastle are now seven points clear of the Premier League relegation zone in fourteenth place.
On the other hand, Oxford sit fifth in the League One standings. The third-tier side have won 11 of their 26 league games this season and remain in the hunt for promotion.
However, Karl Robinson’s side are without a win in their last four league games. Defeats to Doncaster and Rotherham were followed by draws against Ipswich and Gillingham.
But after reaching the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup – beating West Ham before losing to Manchester City – Oxford will be confident of challenging another top-flight team.
Newcastle and Oxford have only had one previous meeting in the FA Cup. Remarkably, Oxford beat Newcastle 3-0 at the Kassam Stadium in the fourth round back in 2016/17.
Having said that, Oxford are looking to reach the FA Cup fifth round for only the seventh time in their history, so a win this time around will be a big ask.
Steve Bruce has used the FA Cup as an opportunity to rest a number of first-team regulars this season, but the Magpies boss has still fielded strong sides in the competition.
Miguel Almiron and Joelinton both scored in the 4-1 replay victory over Rochdale, so we could see the pair in the starting line-up again on Saturday.
Allan Saint-Maximin is expected to feature after recovering from injury, but Dwight Gayle, Javi Manquillo and Jetro Williams all remain sidelined.
As for Oxford, Karl Robinson is likely to name a full-strength side for the trip to St. James’ Park. But on-loan Liverpool forward Ben Woodburn will miss out through injury.
Newcastle come into this game as favorites, but Oxford possess more than enough quality to cause an upset.
Forebet predicts that both teams will score. However, Oxford are expected to come out on top.
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