Oxford United vs Peterborough: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

Peterborough make the trip to Kassam Stadium to take on Oxford United in the first leg of the League One Play-off Semi Finals. Both sides look to take a win into the second leg as they aim to make the step up to the second tier of the English football pyramid.

Date: 04/05/2024

Kick off time: 19:45

Location: Kassam Stadium

This weekend sees fifth take on fourth in the Play-offs as both sides have their sights set on a trip to Wembley. Oxford make a big return to the Play-offs since their 2022 outing whereas this is Peterborough’s second consecutive Play-off appearance in League One.

Oxford United finished the regular League One season in fifth after 46 games. The Us picked up 22 wins, 11 draws and 13 losses, leaving them on 77 points, three points within the Play-offs but seven points from Peterborough above them.

The Us have been in League One since 2016 after winning automatic promotion from League Two. Oxford have made the Play-offs twice in their recent League One stint, crashing out in the Semi Finals in 2021 with a 6 - 3 aggregate loss against Blackpool and then the Final 2020. The Semi Finals saw Oxford beat Portsmouth on penalties after a 2 - 2 aggregate score but then lose 2 - 1 in the Final against Wycombe.

Peterborough finished just above Oxford United in League One. In 46 games, The Posh picked up 25 wins, nine draws and 12 losses which left them on 84 points, seven points above Oxford but eight points from automatic promotion.

The Posh found themselves relegated to League One back in 2013 where they stayed with just one Play-off appearance in seven seasons. In 2021, Peterborough won automatic promotion to the Championship but following a 22nd place finish, The Posh were relegated back to League One. Last season Peterborough reached the Play-offs and even with a 4 - 0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the first leg, a 5 - 1 loss and subsequent penalty shootout loss in the second leg saw them crash out at the Semi Finals.

Oxford United and Peterborough have met 45 times in their histories, with the first meeting coming back in 1966. Oxford have the better record in the fixture with 20 wins in comparison to Peterborough’s 16 wins, the other nine games ending in a draw.

The last five games in this fixture have seen two wins for Peterborough, two draws and one win for Oxford. The 5 - 0 win for Oxford in the most recent outing was Oxford’s first win in the fixture since 2019. Other than the 5 - 0 win, this fixture usually sees a low-scoring game, with two 0 - 0 draws in the last five games.

Oxford United Team News

Des Buckingham could have a near full strength squad for the Play-offs with Kyle Edwards the only doubt for Oxford.

Peterborough Team News

Darren Ferguson, however, could be without The Posh’s top scorer Kwame Poku and Jeando Fuchs this weekend. However, Michael Olakigbe could return for Peterborough.

In their last five games in all competitions, Oxford United have three wins, one draw and one loss.

The visit to Burton saw Oxford restrict their hosts to just two shots on target. Mark Harris opened the scoring in the first half and added another early in the second half. Josh Murphy and James Henry also found the back of the net to secure the 4 - 0 win for Oxford United.

The one loss for Oxford came against a ten-man Lincoln City. A penalty from Daniel Madriou in the 47th minute was the only goal of the game in the 1 - 0 win for Lincoln, despite Dylan Duffy being sent off with ten minutes to go and Oxford having more of the possession and more shots on target.

An own goal from Sam Long gave Stevenage the 1 - 0 lead at halftime but a penalty from Cameron Brannagan on the hour mark drew Oxford level. Despite having 25 shots with six of them on target in comparison to Stevenage’s two shots with zero of them being on target, Oxford were unable to convert any of these shots and had to settle for the 1 - 1 draw.

The last time out for Oxford United was against Exeter City. Harris opened the scoring in the 12th minute and another penalty from Brannagan doubled the lead before halftime. Millenic Alli did get Exeter on the scoresheet early in the second half, but Oxford held on for the 2 - 1 win.

In their last five games in all competitions, Peterborough have two wins, one draw and two losses.

Bosun Lawal opened the scoring for Fleetwood in the first minute but Malik Mothersille equalised for Peterborough before halftime. Archie Finn Collins put The Posh ahead with ten minutes to go and Jonson Clarke-Harris grabbed a brace in extra time to give Peterborough the 4 - 1 win.

Joel Randall gave Peterborough the lead on the stroke of halftime and Ricky-Jade Jones doubled the lead in the fifth minutes of extra time to give The Posh the 2 - 0 win over Bristol Rovers.

However, the next time out saw Peterborough handed a shock loss by Cheltenham. Joe Nuttall and Matt Taylor both scored in the first half to give Cheltenham the 2 - 0 win with Peterborough having just three shots on target.

The most recent outing for Peterborough was against Bolton. A goal from Kyle Dempsey and a penalty from Dion Charles gave Bolton the 2 - 0 lead before the ten minute mark. A brace from Mothersille and a goal from Randall put The Posh 3 - 2 up with 20 minutes to go but a late goal from Cameron Jerome forced a 3 - 3 draw.

These two sides have also met recently in early April. A brace from Ruben Rordigues, a penalty from Harris and goals from Murphy and Billy Bodin gave Oxford the big 5 - 0 win over Peterborough.

Both sides have been in good form lately, but Oxford are likely to edge out Peterborough. However, it’s likely to be low-scoring but with both sides on the scoresheet. Oxford United 2 - 1 Peterborough.

Oxford United vs Peterborough will be shown on Sky Sports Football in the U.K. and can also be followed online on Sky Sports or BBC Sport.

• Latest match predictions
• Football tips
• Football accumulator tips
• Football bet of the day