Oxford vs Preston predictions: Heckingbottom honeymoon to continue for North End
- Oxford have lost three matches in a row across all competitions
- Preston have won back-to-back games under new manager Paul Heckingbottom
- Recommended bet: Preston to win
Preston will be seeking a third victory on the bounce under new manager Paul Heckingbottom when they head to the Kassam Stadium to take on an Oxford side whose own honeymoon period in the Championship may have ended.
North End could not buy a win or goal prior to former Sheffield United boss Heckingbottom's arrival last week, but they have since edged out Luton in the league and put five past Harrogate in the Carabao Cup.
Next up is Saturday's trip to an Oxford side that began the season with back-to-back wins, but they have now lost three on the bounce across all competitions as they attempt to get to grips with life back in the second tier.
Team news
Oxford manager Des Buckingham made eight changes for the midweek cup exit at Coventry and the likes of Mark Harris, Will Vaulks and Ruben Rodrigues should return to the starting XI for this one.
Winger Przemyslaw Placheta missed out during the week with a knock and remains doubtful, while an ankle problem continues to sideline forward Will Goodwin.
Heckingbottom made six changes to his side for the 5-0 cup triumph over Harrogate and after scoring a hat-trick in that game, forward Milutin Osmajic will hope to retain his place.
Midfielder Ali McCann came off the bench in North Yorkshire for his first appearance since April following a thigh injury and the Northern Ireland international will hope to be involved once more on Saturday.
The stats
After winning their opening two matches of the season at home to Norwich in the league and against Peterborough in the Carabao Cup, Oxford have lost three on the bounce, although all those defeats have come on the road.
The U's have only lost two of their last 13 matches at the Kassam Stadium but just one of those games has come at Championship level.
After losing seven league matches on the spin without scoring, Preston returned to winning ways with last weekend's 1-0 home success over Luton in new boss Heckingbottom's first match in charge.
These two sides have only met twice over the last 40 years, with both encounters coming in the third tier in the 1999-2000 season when Preston did the double over Oxford, winning 4-0 away and 3-1 on home soil. North End went on to win promotion that year.
Prediction
If this match had been a couple of weeks ago, Oxford would have fancied their chances of beating a Preston side that had just suffered a seventh league defeat on the spin without scoring.
However, that was before the arrival of Heckingbottom at Deepdale and the new manager bounce appears to be in full swing for Preston, while Oxford are now on a three-game losing streak.
While North End had to grind out their victory over Luton to end their losing run, the shackles were well and truly off against Harrogate in the cup and a team with renewed belief will now be pitching up at the Kassam Stadium.
This will not be easy given Oxford's strong recent record on home soil, but Preston are capable of making it three wins from three under Heckingbottom and they will leapfrog their hosts in the standings if they do achieve that feat.
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