Stuart McCall’s side enter the game coming off the back of two tough matches against Gillingham and Doncaster respectively, and they will be hoping to pick-up their first victory in three matches on Saturday.
Kyle Wootton has been in good form for the Iron of late and will be looking to continue in the same vein this weekend, after scoring the equaliser to earn his third league goal of the season in the 1-1 draw against Doncaster at Glanford Park last time out.
Meanwhile, Oxford have been on a difficult run themselves, only winning once in their last six in all competitions. This recent run of form has seen them drop just above the relegation zone to 20th in the league table.
However, the U’s were 1-0 winners against Blackpool last weekend, and will be searching for back-to-back victories for the first time since December. Jordan Graham scored the only goal of the game, netting just before half-time, as Oxford held on to earn all three points at Bloomfield Road.
TEAM NEWS…
Tony McMahon, on loan to the Iron from Oxford, will miss out as part of the deal that brought him to the club.
Meanwhile, Byron Webster could also miss out with a hamstring strain.
Elsewhere, Josh Morris is out for a few weeks with a fractured fibula and strained ankle ligaments. Jordan Clarke is out for two months (knee), while Ryan Colclough (knee) is out for the remainder of the season. Rory Watson (arm) also looks likely to be out for the rest of the season following surgery last week.
Matthew Lund is out until April after a clean-up operation on a knee problem, while Cameron Borthwick-Jackson will be out for a few weeks with cartilage damage.
PAST MEETINGS…
The Iron have a decent record against Oxford United of late, having not lost against them since March 2017.
Two of the previous three encounters have ended in entertaining draws, one of the most memorable being the reverse fixtures earlier on in the season at Glanford Park, when the Iron came back from 3-0 down to score three goals in six minutes and salvage a draw.
Scunthorpe’s last success against the U’s came just last season, when Josh Morris notched the only goal of the game ten minutes from time, and the Iron will be hoping for a repeat of that scoreline this weekend.
| SEASON/DATE | COMPETITION | RESULT | IRON SCORERS |
| 2018-19 - Sat 3 Nov | LG 1 | Iron 3-3 Oxford | Clarke, Thomas, Goode |
| 2017-18 - Fri 30 Mar | LG 1 | Oxford 1-1 Iron | Toney |
| 2017-18 - Sat 19 Aug | LG 1 | Iron 1-0 Oxford | Morris |
| 2016-17 - Sat 18 Mar | LG 1 | Oxford 2-1 Iron | Madden |
| 2016-17 - Tue 10 Jan | EFLT R3 | Oxford 4-1 Iron | Williams |
| 2016-17 - Sat 26 Nov | LG 1 | Iron 1-1 Oxford | Holmes |
| 2013-14 - Mon 21 Apr | LG 2 | Iron 1-0 Oxford | Sparrow |
| 2013-14 - Sun 29 Dec | LG 2 | Oxford 0-2 Iron | Burton, Syers |
| 2004-05 - Fri 25 Mar | LG 2 | Iron 1-1 Oxford | Baraclough |
| 2004-05 - Sat 14 Aug | LG 2 | Oxford 1-1 Iron | Hayes |
| 2003-04 - Wed 11 Feb | DIV 3 | Oxford 3-2 Iron | Torpey 2 |
| 2003-04 - Sat 23 Aug | DIV 3 | Iron 1-1 Oxford | Beagrie |
| 2002-03 - Sat 26 Apr | DIV 3 | Iron 2-0 Oxford | Hayes, Dalglish |
| 2002-03 - Sat 5 Oct | DIV 3 | Oxford 0-1 Iron | Beagrie |
| 2001-02 - Sat 9 Feb | DIV 3 | Iron 1-0 Oxford | Hodges |
| 2001-02 - Sat 20 Oct | DIV 3 | Oxford 0-1 Iron | Torpey |
| 1999-00 - Sat 29 Apr | DIV 2 | Oxford 2-0 Iron | |
| 1999-00 - Tue 19 Oct | DIV 2 | Iron 1-0 Oxford | Ipoua |
| 1983-84 - Sat 31 Mar | DIV 3 | Oxford 1-0 Iron | |
| 1983-84 - Wed 7 Sep | DIV 3 | Iron 0-0 Oxford | |
| 1967-68 - Sat 30 Dec | DIV 3 | Oxford 2-3 Iron | Deere 2, Sloan |
| 1967-68 - Tue 26 Dec | DIV 3 | Iron 1-1 Oxford | Sloan |
| 1966-67 - Fri 10 Mar | DIV 3 | Iron 2-2 Oxford | Barton, Sloan |
| 1966-67 - Sat 18 Feb | DIV 3 | Oxford 2-1 Iron | Burkinshaw |
| 1965-66 - Sat 28 May | DIV 3 | Oxford 0-3 Iron | Thomas, Bedford, Mahy |
| 1965-66 - Sat 30 Oct | DIV 3 | Iron 1-2 Oxford | Smith |
Our full record against Oxford United is as follows:
| P | W | D | L | F | A | |
| Home | 13 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 11 |
| Away | 13 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 18 |
| TOTAL | 26 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 33 | 29 |
ONE TO WATCH…
English winger James Henry has been Oxford United’s biggest threat in attack this season. Coming off the right flank, the 29-year-old has scored 12 goals, and has provided four assists for his team, and he will be sure to keep the Iron defence on their toes again on Saturday.
The winger started his career with hometown club Reading in 2006, where he stayed for four years, but only made a handful of appearances for the Royals, after he was loaned out a number of times to the likes of Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Norwich and Millwall.
Then, after two successful loan spells at Millwall, Henry made his move to the Den permanent in 2010. Four fruitful years followed, and the winger went on to play 121 times and scored 10 goals in the process.
After making a name for himself there, the tricky winger left to join Wolves in 2014, before joining up with Oxford three years later. During his time with the U’s so far, Henry has enjoyed finding the back of the net, and has scored over 20 times in almost 70 appearances.
ELSHWHERE IN LEAGUE ONE…
Southend United vs Barnsley (12:30pm)
Accrington Stanley vs Coventry City
Bristol Rovers vs Blackpool
Burton Albion vs Walsall
Doncaster Rovers vs Charlton Athletic
Fleetwood Town vs Gillingham
Luton Town vs Rochdale
Peterborough United vs Wycombe Wanderers
Portsmouth vs Bradford City
Shrewsbury Town vs AFC Wimbledon
Sunderland vs Plymouth Argyle
