Oxford vs QPR Prediction: U’s to bag another 1-0 win?

Oxford United got a massive win at the weekend, beating Sheffield Unitd 1-0 at the Kassam Stadium to take another important step towards survival. They face QPR at home (19:45, Sky Sports+) on Wednesday night, with both sides still needing to pick up points to escape the clutches of an improving bottom three. 

Below you can find my Oxford vs QPR predictions, as we approach squeaky bum time in the second tier. 

Football Odds

Team News

Gary Rowett should stick with the same side that beat Sheffield United after a stunning victory at the weekend, with Mark Harris leading the line, supported by Ole Rominey, Siriki Dembele and Przemyslaw Placheta. 

Dembele scored the only goal of that game and will look for another here, while Jamie Cumming will hope for another clean sheet after an impressive display. Matt Philips won’t be able to play against his former side due to his injury, while captain Elliott Moore is also out. However, Greg Leigh is back in training and could be involved from the bench. 

Meanwhile QPR have a whole host of injuries and were held to a 0-0 draw by Cardiff City last time out. The attacking issues are clear for all to see with Michael Frey, Zan Celar, Rayan Kolli and now Alfie Lloyd out injured. The youngster came off with a hamstring strain against Cardiff leaving no fit natural strikers, meaning Karamoko Dembele may have to do a job down the middle. 

Ilias Chair, Harvey Vale and Jake Clarke-Salter are all out, Steve Cook is a doubt and Koki Saito is suspended and Marti Cifuentes counts the cost of his walking wounded. Jonathan Varane should come into the midfield while Kieran Morgan will also be hoping for a start. 

Oxford vs QPR Odds

Oxford are priced at 7/5 to win this game, having won 10 of their 20 home games this term, giving them a win probability of 41%. Meanwhile, QPR are priced at 21/10 to take all three points, the same price as a draw on Wednesday night. 

Over 2.5 goals has been priced up at 13/8 and BTTS is 11/0 having come in during 52% of Oxford’s matches so far this term. Tom Bradshaw and Harris are both up at 13/2 to open the scoring. 

Oxford to win to nil @ 5/2

I think this will be a tight game with relatively few goals, but I’m going to back Oxford to win to nil at a decent price. I can’t back QPR to find the net at this current moment in time given their array of attacking issues. Frey is a massive miss, but the combination of other injuries has left them seriously lacking up top, while Chair’s absence means that there is little creativity in the final third. A 0-0 against Cardiff proved that, and I think the R’s are still in danger of going down, with no wins in their last seven.

They sit four points above the relegation zone with the bottom three in decent form, while Oxford are looking to secure another massive home win and leapfrog them. The U’s have been great at home this season, and their 1-0 win over Sheffield United was their best result of the lot. 

Rowett, unlike his opposite number, has got a number nine he can rely on in Harris, and Oxford should be able to get the job done. They’ve won their last two home matches 1-0, so I’m tempted to go for that scoreline again, but will widen our chances by backing Oxford to win to nil.

Scorecast - Mark Harris to score first and Oxford to win 1-0 @ 28/1

Alright I changed my mind - let's back 1-0 with a twist. Now, Harris has only scored six goals this term and Oxford tend to share the goals around, but he remains the top scorer in the U’s side. He is going to start up front again and I think he will fancy his chances of delivering against a QPR outfit lacking confidence.

Back-to-back 1-0 home wins can be followed up by a third here, and I’ve already explained my reasoning for backing Oxford to keep QPR at bay. I’m confident with the 1-0 home win, so let’s add Harris as the first goalscorer to give ourselves a big price for our second selection. 

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