What the different outcomes of Oxford United's midweek meeting with Lincoln City could mean for Blackpool

When the pair met during the first half of the campaign, the U’s claimed a 2-0 victory at the LNER Stadium.

The home team head into this fixture having scored 13 goals in their last three games, which includes Saturday’s 5-0 victory over Peterborough United. They currently sit in sixth on 73 points, while the eighth-place Imps trail them by five following their 2-1 defeat against Wigan Athletic at the weekend.

Blackpool sit in between the pair on 70, but have played a game more, and will only be back in action on Saturday afternoon, when they welcome Barnsley to Bloomfield Road for their penultimate match of the campaign.

Here’s what the different outcomes of tonight’s game at the Kassam Stadium could mean for the Seasiders:

Oxford win

With just two games to go, a victory for Des Buckingham’s side would see them move six points clear of seventh place Blackpool with a superior goal difference of more than seven. Unless there’s some big scores in the last couple of fixtures, a win tonight would more or less secure Oxford’s spot in the play-offs and mean the Seasiders would finish below them.

By the time Neil Critchley’s men are back in action, the U’s could even be up to nine points clear, with their penultimate game of the campaign against Stevenage coming on Friday night, before closing the season away to Exeter City the following weekend.

Lincoln win

A win for Lincoln would lift them back seventh by a point ahead of their final two games against Cheltenham Town and Portsmouth . Like Oxford, the Imps have a superior goal difference to the Seasiders, with 25 compared to 17.

If tonight’s result was to swing in the favour of Michael Skubala’s side, it would leave two teams above Blackpool in the race for sixth, but it’d be more in reach than if the U’s claimed all three points.

Draw

A draw would leave Oxford United four clear of Critchley’s side, and with their superior goal difference, they would have to drop points in both of their remaining two games to drop below the Fylde Coast club.

Meanwhile, the same outcome would leave Lincoln one behind the Seasiders- who still need to pick up maximum points themselves against Barnsley and Reading.

The other hope

Elsewhere tonight, Barnsley are in action away to Portsmouth at Fratton Park. The Tykes are without a win in their last three, with their form really dipping. They currently sit five points ahead of the Seasiders, meaning defeats tonight and then in the game at Bloomfield Road on Saturday would leave them under some pressure heading into their game against Northampton Town on the final weekend.