West Bromwich Albion will face Oxford United at The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon in a Championship match. The Baggies have struggled since the departure of Carlos Corberan to Valencia, while the U's are performing well under Gary Rowett. West Brom have only won two of their six Championship games since Mowbray took over as manager in January.
However, after an early goal from Lions defender Jake Cooper within the opening 20 minutes, the Baggies earned a fair point at the base of Millwall in London last Saturday when a Joe Bryan own goal was sufficient to put the visitors back in the game.
With just four points from their past three second-tier games, West Brom has fallen to sixth place in the Championship standings ahead of their home match against Oxford on Saturday. They are just one point ahead of a Coventry City team that is on the rise under Frank Lampard.
In the Championship this season, only Burnley (0), Sunderland (0), and Leeds United (1) have suffered fewer home defeats than West Bromwich Albion (2). However, the Baggies endured a disappointing evening in their last match at The Hawthorns, as a brace from Makhtar Gueye secured victory for a Blackburn Rovers side without a manager.
West Brom's inconsistency has been a recurring issue, preventing them from securing consecutive league wins since September. With challenging fixtures against Leeds and Burnley approaching, Albion will need a standout performance to break this trend.
Meanwhile, Oxford United have seen a worrying dip in form since their consecutive home wins over Blackburn Rovers and relegation-threatened Luton Town in January. Saturday’s visitors are currently on a five-match winless streak, managing to score just once in that period.
Their latest setback came against League One champions Portsmouth, who secured all three points at the Kassam Stadium, courtesy of goals from Andre Dozzell and Mark O'Mahony. As a result, Oxford have slipped to 16th place in the Championship table, though they still hold a nine-point cushion over Derby County, who occupy the highest relegation spot.
Oxford's struggles have been particularly evident away from home, having won just one of their 16 Championship matches on the road this season. Only Derby, Luton, and Plymouth Argyle have accumulated fewer away points. Additionally, the U’s have scored just 10 goals away from home—only Plymouth (6) have netted fewer. Mark Harris remains their top scorer, but the Welsh forward has only managed one league goal since the end of August.
