Preview: FA Cup – Hayes and Yeading United vs Oxford United


Oxford United travel to non-league Hayes and Yeading United this Sunday for the first round of the FA Cup.

Karl Robinson’s side are currently twelve games unbeaten in all competitions and have moved up to fourth in League One.

The U’s have also reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup where they will host Manchester City.

But this weekend, their attention turns to another cup. The U’s reached the third round last season but were knocked out at this stage the season before following defeat at Port Vale.

Oxford have also had some memorable cup runs in this competition in recent years. Under Michael Appleton, the U’s have seen off Premier League opposition in Swansea City and Newcastle United and have reached the fifth round.

Josh Ruffels, Chris Cadden and Rob Hall should all be available after recovering from their respective injuries, and although Cameron Brannagan won’t feature, his progress is looking promising.

Although the U’s are still injury-hit, this weekend could provide a good opportunity to rest some fatigued players and incorporate some of the youth into the starting eleven.

Despite being a lowly 18th in their division, Hayes and Yeading have lost just once from their last eight games in all competitions.

James Clark leads the scoring charts with eight, with striker Ogo Obi just behind with seven.

These two sides have met before. Chris Wilder’s Oxford beat them 2-0 in this competition in 2008 before securing a win in the FA Trophy the following season.

And although the U’s lost both Conference games against Hayes and Yeading in 2010, they secured promotion back to League Two after a 3-1 playoff final win over York City.

Predicted line-up: Jack Stevens, Kevin Berkoe, Elliott Moore, Nico Jones, Sam Long, John Mousinho, Shandon Baptiste, James Henry, Rob Hall, Mark Sykes, Dan Agyei.

Prediction: Hayes and Yeading United 0-4 Oxford United

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