It’s the FA Cup first round this midweek in England as Woking of the National League meet with Oxford United in League one in what is turning out to be contrasting seasons for both sides ahead of the World Cup.
Both clubs will continue on the domestic front during the World Cup, with League One, League Two and the non-league leagues in England not taking a break.
Let's try that again...Bring your best on Wednesday night, Cardinals ✊ pic.twitter.com/IlQlS2ASDi— Woking Football Club (@wokingfc) November 15, 2022
Let's try that again...Bring your best on Wednesday night, Cardinals ✊ pic.twitter.com/IlQlS2ASDi
The continuation of games for Oxford is perhaps not what they needed, as they head into this game 12th in League One and with a lot to turn around in order to give fans hope of a run towards the playoffs.
Oxford are in 12th right now and although this means they have broken into the top half of the table, it does also mean they come into this match with Woking in the FA Cup with 20 goals conceded and only 24 scored, which is a great contrast to the form they showed last year.
In fact, with close to 100 goals scored across all competitions, Oxford were the highest-scoring side in League One last campaign as they almost challenged for the playoffs, while only a handful of teams across the English Football Pyramid scored more than them.
Worse yet for Oxford this campaign, with just six games won from 18 attempts, some sides around them have games in hand which could rocket them further down the league, while with seven games lost too, the club have already lost the most games for those inside the top 17.
As for Woking, they come into this game in sensational form that has seen them march up the National League table and towards the playoffs.
In fact, with a win over Boreham Wood the past weekend, it now means four games on the bounce in which they have won a game without conceding a single goal.
Woking is now fourth in the National League and although it remains quite a distance from Wrexham at the top, a chance for them to battle in the playoff spots for the time being is giving fans a lot of hope that they can challenge for a spot in League Two for next season.
In the FA Cup against Oxford, however, they could end up struggling.