FA Cup | Third Round

Jan 11, 2025 at 3pm UK

St James Park

Exeter vs Oxford Utd

Match preview

Exeter have only got one point from three matches since they beat Bristol Rovers 3-1 on Boxing Day.

The Grecians had a cracking 4-4 draw with Crawley Town, but then lost 2-1 to Wycombe Wanderers and Bolton Wanderers.

To rub salt in the wound, Aaron Morley scored a stoppage-time winner in both of those matches, helping his loan side Wycombe snatch all three points, before he returned to his parent club to score the decisive goal for Bolton in the 91st minute of last Saturday's clash at Adams Park. This leaves Exeter in 14th place in the League One table, 11 points above the drop zone and 10 points adrift from the top six.

The Grecians will be glad to see Morley go, as they now turn their focus to their first FA Cup third-round appearance in four years, which they got thanks to wins over Barnet and Chesterfield in the first two rounds of the competition proper.

Exeter are hoping to reach the fourth round for the first time since 1980-81, when they made it to the quarter-finals before being knocked out by the eventual winners, Tottenham Hotspur.

Oxford will be feeling pretty good about themselves after winning three and drawing one of their first four matches under Rowett.

The 50-year-old needed just one match to end Oxford's eight-game winless run, overseeing a 3-2 victory over Cardiff City to kick off his tenure in impressive fashion.

They then went on to beat Plymouth Argyle and Millwall without conceding, before drawing 1-1 with Preston North End last Saturday.

His impressive start has seen Oxford rise from 22nd to 17th in the Championship table, putting them five points ahead of the relegation zone.

The U's will now put their survival bid on hold as they turn their focus to FA Cup action, with the visitors looking to reach the fourth round for the first time since 2019-20.

They've won four of their last five meetings with Exeter, including a 2-1 victory in their most recent away encounter in April 2024, so they'll be feeling pretty confident about achieving that feat.

Possible starting lineup

Exeter City FA Cup form:WW

Exeter City form (all competitions):LWWDLL

Oxford United form (all competitions):LLWWWD

Team News

Exeter are going to be without Sonny Cox, Yanic Wildschut, Kevin McDonald, Mustapha Carayol, Reece Cole, Pierce Sweeney and Ed James.

Ilmari Niskanen was benched for the recent draw with Bolton, but he might be back in the side as a left wing-back against Oxford.

Jack Aitchison is also in the running for a starting spot, after coming back from injury to play about half an hour last weekend.

As for the visitors, they'll probably be without captain Elliott Moore, who picked up a groin injury in the New Year's Day victory over Millwall.

Oxford's medical staff will have to assess Peter Kioso and Mark Harris after they were forced off during the draw with Preston.

Rowett might decide to rotate his squad for Saturday's FA Cup game, which could mean starts for Matt Ingram, Jordan Thorniley, Josh McEachran, Przemyslaw Placheta, Siriki Dembele and Dane Scarlett.

Possible starting lineup

Exeter City possible starting lineup:

Whitworth; Fitzwater, Crama, Francis; McMillan, Woods, Richards, Niskanen; Aitchison, Mitchell; Magennis

Oxford United possible starting lineup:

Ingram; Ter Avest, Thorniley, Brown, Leigh; McEachran, Brannagan; Placheta, Sibley, Dembele; Scarlett