Oxford United vs Bristol City Predictions, Lineups & Betting Tips

Oxford United vs Bristol City Predictions, Lineups & Betting Tips

Match Details: January 17, 2026 | The Kassam Stadium | EFL Championship | 15:00 GMT

Oxford host Bristol City in a Championship clash that could be huge in the battles for the play-offs and relegation come the end of the season, with the hosts in the struggle for survival and the visitors pushing for promotion. It's not been a great season for Oxford, as they hope for a new manager bounce under Matt Bloomfield to carry them to three points against a side that have been prolific in front of goal lately and punished defensive mistakes with aplomb.

Key Betting Tips: BTTS @ 1.80 odds on Coral, or 1.72 odds on Kwiff and BoyleSports all represent good value based on the tip provided by Football Park's advanced algorithm.

Neither side have been able to find much consistency lately, but there's been plenty of goals in recent outings for them both, so backing Both Teams To Score looks like a good bet based on the odds provided.

Oxford United vs Bristol City Predicted Lineups

Oxford United Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Jamie Cumming; Jack Currie, Ciaron Brown, Michał Helik, Brodie Spencer; Brian De Keersmaecker, Luke Harris; Stanley Mills, Filip Krastev, Przemysław Płacheta; Will Lankshear

Hidde ter Avest and Nik Prelec should both return to fitness in the next few weeks, while both Matthew Phillips and Ben Davies are potentially available for this clash, but they may need to wait a little longer for first team action again. Cameron Brannagan should also be back before too long. The injury list was made one longer last time out when Tyler Goodrham came off early with a knee injury which will likely see him out until next month.

Bristol City Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Joe Lumley; Robert Atkinson, Rob Dickie, Zak Vyner; Neto Borges, Sam Morsy, Jason Knight, Ross McCrorie; Anis Mehmeti, Scott Twine; Emil Riis Jakobsen

Bristol City's injury woes should lighten soon, with goalkeeper Radek Vitek potentially fit to return for this game. Other players expected to return in the next few weeks include Luke McNally, Mark Sykes and midfield duo Joe Williams and Max Bird, with out of favour striker Fally Mayulu unlikely to be back for another month.

Oxford United vs Bristol City Current League Standings

Oxford have had a torrid time this season compared to the success of last year under Gary Rowett that saw them survive the drop. They don't look likely to be able to repeat that trick this season, which saw Rowett sacked a few weeks ago and replaced by Matt Bloomfield. Despite the teams ahead being mathematically possible to catch in the next few weeks, the difference in quality displayed this season makes it look like it'll be a tough ask for Oxford, so they'll want to kick life under Bloomfield off with a good performance against a strong side.

Bristol City seem to be struggling for consistency at the moment, but when they turn it on, they look unstoppable. They embarrassed Watford in the FA Cup after dismantling Portsmouth, but suffered losses against Millwall and Preston where they just couldn't find the end product. As a result, they've made the short drop down to 10th, but are still well in with a shout of play-offs as they trail Watford in sixth by just two points. They won't want to fall back into their old habits of mid-table mediocrity, so putting together some results to grab a second play-off finish in a row would cement the intentions of the club to go up.

Oxford United vs Bristol City Head-to-Head Timeline

Recent fixtures between these two dictate that this match could well go either way, with both sides having beaten the other twice and the game ending level once in their last five meetings. There's always goals when these two face off, with neither side able to keep a clean sheet against the other in the last five encounters. This isn't a tie that comes around very regularly, with a nine year gap between their fourth and fifth most recent meetings, and the one before that coming in 2002. If Oxford can survive this season, though, then we're guaranteed at least another two games featuring these two next year, provided Bristol City don't achieve an unlikely promotion.

Recent Head-to-Head Results:

• September 21, 2025: Bristol City 1-3 Oxford United (Championship)
• February 1, 2025: Oxford United 1-1 Bristol City (Championship)
• September 21, 2024: Bristol City 2-1 Oxford United (Championship)
• August 9, 2023: Bristol City 5-1 Oxford United (Championship)
• August 12, 2014: Bristol City 1-2 Oxford United (EFL Cup)

Oxford United and Bristol City Recent Matches Analysis

Oxford United Last 5 Matches:

• Oxford United 1-1 MK Dons (A) - FA Cup, Oxford win 4-3 on penalties
• Oxford United 1-2 Ipswich Town (A) - Championship
• Oxford United 0-1 Swansea City (H) - Championship
• Oxford United 2-1 Southampton (H) - Championship
• Oxford United 0-1 Charlton Athletic (A) - Championship

Oxford's form as of late has been pretty concerning, losing to the likes of Charlton and Swansea who are both now firmly ahead of them in the relegation battle, worsening their prospects significantly. The victory against Southampton was obviously a positive result, but there should be genuine concern on Oxford's part about their close call against MK Dons, who are two divisions below in League Two. They only just overcame them on penalties, so will need a much better performance to overcome a competitive Bristol City side. Four goals scored and six conceded in their last five isn't terrible reading, but you always want to be aiming for a positive scoring record, so they'll be looking to be more assured in front of goal in this game.

Bristol City Last 5 Matches:

• Bristol City 5-1 Watford (H) - FA Cup
• Bristol City 0-2 Preston North End (H) - Championship
• Bristol City 5-0 Portsmouth (H) - Championship
• Bristol City 1-2 Millwall (A) - Championship
• Bristol City 2-1 West Brom (A) - Championship

Though they've been unable to stitch results together recently, three wins from five is still very promising form for Bristol City to be in if they want to continue chasing the play-offs, where they will face strong competition for the top six for the rest of the season. Their last two wins have seen them score five goals in each match, proving how deadly their attack can be if given the chance, though Preston were able to keep them quiet expertly. That has meant that they've scored a whopping 13 goals in five games, conceding six in the same period, which makes them look like an incredibly exciting outfit that often see goals at both ends.

Oxford United vs Bristol City Predictions

Our advanced algorithm analyses over 200 data points to generate these predictions with an 80.00% confidence in BTTS. The model factors in current form, head-to-head records, player availability, and tactical matchups.

Best Oxford United vs Bristol City Betting Tips

Football Park’s Best Bet: BTTS @ 1.80 odds on Coral - The likelihood of goals in this game looks high from both sides, and mixed form on Bristol City's part make it difficult to confidently predict a winner, so BTTS at these odds looks like the safest competitive bet.

Key Players to Watch: Oxford United vs Bristol City

Brian De Keersmaecker (Oxford United): The Belgian has probably been Oxford's best player since joining them in the summer, and was one of the key players when they earned a convincing victory at Ashton Gate earlier in the season. Effective at building attacks from the holding position, De Keersmaecker has notched up four assists in the league so far this season, two of which came against Bristol City, with a single goal to his name at this point.

Emil Riis Jakobsen (Bristol City): After bagging a hat-trick against Watford last time out, it's impossible to look past Riis to be the player to keep an eye on for the Robins. That game took his tally for the season up to 10 goals in all competitions, which has been crucial for City as other strikers continue to struggle to find the net. With talent supplying him like Mehmeti and Twine, and now with the addition of George Earthy to the fray, Riis certainly looks like a striker to be wary of if you're an opposition defender.

Oxford United vs Bristol City Match Facts

Broadcast Details: N/A

Referee: Tim Robinson

Stadium Information: Named after the owner of the stadium, The Kassam Stadium has a capacity of 12,500 and famously only features three stands, with the fourth never being completed as the club suffered from financial difficulties and two relegations during construction.

Oxford United vs Bristol City: Final Prediction

Oxford United 1-1 Bristol City