Northampton Town will be aiming to preserve their place in the top half of the League One table when they host Oxford United on Saturday.

Oxford, meanwhile, can move into the automatic promotion spots with a victory.

Match preview

Having only been promoted back to League One last season, Northampton could scarcely have imagined sitting inside the top half as we head into the Christmas period. However, that is where they find themselves after snatching a late draw against Carlisle United last weekend.

Carlisle had appeared to be heading for a crucial win by turning the match on its head in the second half, but Kieron Bowie's injury-time equaliser saw his side jump above Shrewsbury Town into 12th spot.

The Cobblers will find themselves at least 10 points behind the playoff places when they kick off against Oxford on Saturday, making another promotion push seem unlikely. However, having bounced between the third and fourth tiers on several occasions in the last 25 years, Northampton fans would be delighted with a period of stability for their club.

Having won four of their last six league games at Sixfields Stadium, with only league leaders Portsmouth getting the better of them on their own patch during that period, Brady and his players will be confident of causing an upset this weekend.

That said, Oxford will travel to Northamptonshire with renewed confidence after claiming a 3-0 win against Burton Albion last time out.

The nature of Oxford's victory was hugely impressive. Des Buckingham's side had 28 shots, with exactly half of those hitting the target. Despite this, the U's left it late to double their tally after Ruben Rodrigues's early strike, with the Portuguese midfielder adding a second with seven minutes remaining. Marcus McGuane sealed all three points with a minute to spare.

Oxford had failed to win any of their previous four league games, but the win saw them leapfrog Stevenage and Bolton Wanderers into third place in the table. Having finished in the top half in four consecutive seasons before surprisingly falling to 19th last time out, they look well placed to challenge for a return to the second tier once again.

If they can defeat Northampton on Saturday, they would move into the second automatic promotion spot should Peterborough United fail to claim all three points away to Shrewsbury Town. Buckingham will be hopeful that his players can produce similarly high performance levels after their superb win last weekend.

Team News

Northampton could remain without Louis Appere due to a hip injury. The 24-year-old sustained the issue after appearing from the bench against Fleetwood Town.

Goalkeeper Lee Burge and forward Danny Hylton are nearing returns, but Ben Fox, Ali Koiki and Tyler Magloire are all ruled out until 2024. Brady is unlikely to make any selection changes after dispatching Fleetwood so comfortably.

Likewise, Oxford may name an unchanged starting XI after dominating Burton. As such, the likes of John Brayford, Mason Bennett and Josh Walker may be used from the bench.

Wingers Marcus Browne and Kyle Edwards are not expected to feature until the New Year having both been sent to specialists with hamstring injuries. Browne sustained his issue against Grimsby Town earlier this month, while Edwards has not featured since September. Stephan Negru is ruled out with a similar problem.

Northampton Town possible starting lineup:
Thompson; Odimayo, Sherring, Guthrie, Brough; Mcwilliams, Sowerby; Hoskins, Leonard, Pinnock; Bowie

Oxford United possible starting lineup:
Beadle; Stevens, Moore, J Bennett, Brown; Brannagan, McGuane; Mills, Rodrigues, Murphy; Harris

We say: Northampton Town 2-2 Oxford United

This could be a Christmas cracker with both teams scoring plenty of goals in recent weeks. Northampton's home form is strong, but Oxford clearly possess greater technical ability.

As such, we do not think that either manager would be disappointed with gaining a point. Although this would not be enough to move Oxford into the automatic promotion positions, it would be a decent result to build on.

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