Oxford - Scouting Report

The Magpies will have to put the disappointment behind themselves, after their recent game against Mansfield. All focus must be on the task at hand, whilst of course pushing for all three points.

Oxford United will most likely allow Notts to play, so it should make for an entertaining game within the lower tier.

It’s important neither side sit back, as both teams are prone to making their own mistakes.

Run down of their recent games.

Saturday 8^th August – Oxford 1 Crawley 1
Tuesday 11^th August – Brentford 0 Oxford 4 (League Cup)
Saturday 15^th August – Luton 2 Oxford 2

The Players – Fact Sheet

Highest Goal Scorers; Danny Hylton 2, Kemar Roofe 2, Johnny Mullins 1 and Liam Sercombe 1.

Persistent Foulers; Alex MacDonald 2 Yellow Cards, Liam Sercombe 1 Yellow Card and Ryan Taylor 1 Yellow Card.

The Key Players.

Danny Hylton, Danny Rose, Kemar Roofe, Liam Sercombe and Jake Wright.

Danny Hylton is a lively striker, who has the ability to get quick chances off and generally causes his opposition trouble.

Danny Rose is Oxford's creative player, he likes to be direct and isn't afraid to get into challenges or avoid passes when he is being marked. Likewise, Kemar Roofe and Liam Sercombe like to be direct themselves, with a natural ability on the ball the pair team up well and offer United quite a lot of width.

Jake Wright is their anchor within defence, he tries to keep the game simple but tackles well.

Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses.

Oxford United appear to be your typical lower league team, they try to counter breaks after their opposition have thrown men forward. They’re patient and slow at building, yet can inject pace when the need is required. However, to a degree their approach is somewhat scrappy.

The main strength is from their creative players, they look for alternative options when their game plan does not seem to work. They invite play onto themselves, so that they can then hit back with their own attacks and generally try to frustrate their opposition.

With regards to weaknesses, for me it’s all about their scrappy play. Good teams will be able to flood their back line, which would put pressure onto themselves.

Their keeper Sam Slocombe didn’t really impress me within their highlights, he seems to be a risk for me as he didn’t control his area well and when he came to making basic saves – He tended to drop the ball and generally created tension within his own defensive, which lead to Luton Town scoring against them.

If Notts can penetrate through the centre of the box, allowing players to shoot from the edge of the box – Potential tap ins may occur, but crosses is another area whereby the Magpies can exploit.