PREVIEW Cheltenham Town U18 v Oxford United U18

Oxford United’s under 18s head for Cheltenham Town on Saturday in the EFL Youth Alliance South West Division.

The young U’s are hot on the heels of leaders AFC Bournemouth after eight games but will have to do without Tyler Goodrham and Adam Smith who both picked up injuries in a bruising FA Youth Cup tie against AFC Wimbledon last week.

“Tyler came back into the group but is more usually with our Under 21 side” coach Leon Blackmore-Such told us. “They also play Bournemouth this week in the Central League cup again but for Saturday we will see who is available because we are starting to get one or two knocks. But that’s all part of it - dealing with injuries and having to adapt.

“We’ve done well so far so it’s important we go to Cheltenham and try to keep our standards high and also that we bounce back from going out of the FA Youth Cup.”

Follow Academy OUFC for in-match tweets and we’ll have a report and reaction right here.

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