BACK at the beginning of March, I predicted that Oxford United would finish the season on 78 points. With four games to go, the U’s are eight points shy of that forecast.
When the crystal ball previously came out, United had 10 games still to play, and of the six matches to have taken place since, my predictions have been pretty bang on.
I said the U’s would beat Cheltenham Town 2-1, and win 2-0 at Port Vale, both of which were on the money, while there have been correct results against Bolton Wanderers, Fleetwood Town and Burton Albion.
The only one to let me down was the Shrewsbury Town clash, when I backed United to win, and if not for a late equaliser that would’ve been the case.
READ AGAIN: Our prediction for how many points U’s will get in final 10 games
As a huge week beckons for the U’s, it felt like the right time to revisit my predictions, while also having a crack at how United’s promotion rivals will fare between now and the end of the season.
APRIL 13
Barnsley 2-1 Reading
Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Portsmouth
Carlisle United 0-1 Blackpool
Derby County 2-0 Leyton Orient
Lincoln City 2-1 Wigan Athletic
OXFORD UNITED 1-1 Peterborough United
Stevenage 1-0 Burton Albion
APRIL 16
Bolton Wanderers 3-1 Shrewsbury Town
OXFORD UNITED 1-1 Lincoln City
Peterborough United 3-0 Fleetwood Town
Portsmouth 2-1 Barnsley
APRIL 19
OXFORD UNITED 2-1 Stevenage
APRIL 20
Blackpool 0-0 Barnsley
Bolton Wanderers 3-1 Port Vale
Bristol Rovers 2-2 Peterborough United
Cambridge United 1-1 Derby County
Cheltenham Town 0-1 Lincoln City
Portsmouth 2-1 Wigan Athletic
APRIL 23
Cheltenham Town 0-2 Peterborough United
APRIL 27
Barnsley 2-1Northampton Town
Derby County 3-1 Carlisle United
Exeter City 0-2 OXFORD UNITED
Lincoln City 1-1 Portsmouth
Peterborough United 2-2 Bolton Wanderers
Reading 0-1 Blackpool
Stevenage 1-2 Cheltenham Town
The above results would see the top of the League One table remain exactly the same in terms of team position, leaving Portsmouth and Derby County to take the automatic promotion slots on 98 and 90 points respectively.
The play-off spots would then see Bolton Wanderers (89), Peterborough United (86), Barnsley (81) and Oxford United (78) fight it out for promotion. Lincoln City (76), Blackpool (74) and Stevenage (70) would miss out on the top six.