Seventeen days after they were due to originally meet, Wycombe Wanderers will finally host Oxford United at Adams Park.

In what was going to be the Chairboys’ first home game of the calendar year, the match was postponed due to the U’s FA Cup third-round tie against Premier League leaders, Arsenal.

Thankfully, fans did not have to wait long for the rearranged date to be confirmed, as the first M40 Derby of 2023 is finally here.

So here is everything you need to know for the Car Park vs Three Stands derby.

Current Form and Background on Oxford United

It is fair to say that Oxford United’s season has been incredibly inconsistent.

Karl Robinson’s men sit 10th in the table on 35 points – eight off the play-off places.

And whilst reaching the top six is still 100 per cent doable, they will need to pick up their form if they want to squeeze into those places come May.

Since returning to League One after a 15-year absence in 2016, Oxford have finished 8th, 4th, 6th, and 8th – a respectable feat for a club that were once playing in the National League as recently as 2010.

Their only two seasons of obscurity in the third tier of English football were in 2017/18 and 2018/19, when they finished 16th and 12th respectively.

This season, they have had an indifferent run of league form with nine wins, nine defeats, and eight draws.

But with three wins from their last four games, could they record their first league win at Adams Park since April 2015?

Current Form and Background on Wanderers

When January comes to an end next week, Wycombe would have only played three matches.

The 3-0 away victory against Peterborough United on New Year's Day, the 1-0 home defeat against Sheffield Wednesday on January 14, and the Thames Valley derby on January 24 have made it a somewhat frustrating month for the Chairboys in terms of fixtures.

Saturday’s trip away at Bristol Rovers was postponed due to an ‘unsafe playing surface’, whilst this weekend’s fixture at home to Fleetwood Town has also been moved.

This is due to the Cod Army’s FA Cup clash against Sheffield Wednesday taking place on the same day.

A backlog of midweek matches now beckons for Gareth Ainsworth’s team, but he hopes his Wycombe side can once again ruin the Oxford applecart.

In their last 10 games, Wanderers have won five, lost three, drawn two, and have moved from midtable to just outside the play-off places.

They have also kept six clean sheets in their last 13 league outings, and currently boast the second-best goal difference for any club outside the top six.

The Last Five Meetings

2022/23: Oxford United 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers

2021/22: Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 Oxford United

2021/22: Oxford United 0-0 Wycombe Wanderers

2019/20: Oxford United 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers

2019/20: Oxford United 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers

Overall Home Record Against Oxford United

Games: 14

Wycombe Wanderers wins: Six

Draws: Three

Oxford United wins: Five

Overall Record Against Oxford United

Games: 32

Wycombe Wanderers wins: 13

Draws: Nine

Oxford United wins: 10

Miscellaneous

  • Geographically, this is Wycombe’s closest opponent in League One, as there are only 26 miles separating Adams Park and the Kassam Stadium
  • The referee for the match is Neil Hair, Declan O'Shea and Dean Treleaven will be the assistants whilst the fourth official is Will Finnie
  • Hair has taken charge of five Wycombe matches in his career, with the last one being the 5-5 draw against Cheltenham Town in February 2022
  • If Jack Grimmer starts, it will be his 100th for Wycombe in the league
  • Jordan Obita is expected to play against his former side
  • In a four-month spell at the Kassam Stadium, he played 15 times and scored once
  • If Wycombe defeat Oxford, it will be the club's first league double over the Yellows since the 2000/01 season