A resurgent Oxford United arrive at St James Park on a run of 4 games unbeaten since Gary Rowett replaced Des Buckingham in the hot seat.

Despite that, we fancy Exeter to burst Rowett’s bubble on Saturday. Oxford have picked up 6 points on the road all season in the league, with 4 of those points picked up over the last 2 games. Rowett was brought in with a clear brief, to avoid relegation.

Whilst the early signs are good, as Oxford go 5 points clear of the drop zone after a fruitful festive period, Rowett may view a cup run as an unwelcome distraction for his side, which could lead to fatigue and injuries amongst his squad. He may also use this as an opportunity to look at some squad players, having not had much time to work this with side so far. Oxford have an away game at Plymouth to navigate on the following Tuesday, which will surely take priority.

Exeter City are 14th in League One, 11 points clear of the drop zone and 10 points away from the play-off spots. It is very early to say this of course, but Exeter City may need a cup run to add purpose to the second half of their campaign. They’re not in great form, with 2 wins from their last 7, but the 4 losses came against Stockport, Barnsley, Wycombe and Bolton, who are all in the top 10. We fancy them to give Oxford a game here.

The Canaries enjoyed a good Christmas and New Year period, with 10 points pick up from a possible 12. The fixtures were pretty favourable, but you can only beat what is in front of you, and coach Johannes Thorup feels his side are finally showing signs of what he expects from them in terms of performances.

They are strong at home, with just 2 losses in 13 league games this season. They may be boosted for this game by the return of star striker Josh Sargent, who has been absent through injury since October. This game has been the plan for reintroduction.

Brighton are on a strange run, unbeaten in 4 games but winless in 8, having apparently lost the knack of picking up 3 points. Those fixtures were mostly games which you would give Brighton a good chance of winning, as they failed to beat Southampton, Leicester, Palace, West Ham and Brentford (at home).

At the same time they did earn creditable draws against Villa and Arsenal, so it indicates to me they’re may be something in their style which seems them struggle to convert against poorer sides. Add to that the possibility of squad rotation after a busy festive period and a Premier League game on the following Thursday, and we have the ingredients for a ‘cupset’.

Richie Wellens’ Leyton Orient have been on a fantastic run since the start of November. As December started they were in the relegation zone down in 21st, but as of now they’re in 8th place, just 4 points outside the play-offs, having picked up 22 points from a possible 24.

Now we must give some context to those results, as 7 of those 8 games were against teams currently 17th or lower in the table. The other was a handy win away against Barnsley, who at the time of playing them were 8th in the table, but had only won 2 of 11 games at home. Nevertheless, the confidence gained from that run will be invaluable.

They host a Derby County side who have lost their last 3 games, and have been weak on the road all season. They have 7 points from 14 games away from Pride Park. Only Blackburn Rovers have picked up fewer points over the last 5 games in the Championship.

The current poor run of form will have Paul Warne looking over his shoulder, having never avoided relegation from the Championship as a manager in 3 attempts. He is a manager who mostly utilises the same core of players without much rotation, so this game will give a chance to do so. Orient may be able to take advantage of a lack of confidence.