Portsmouth boss makes Oxford United claim that could have consequences for Charlton, Bolton, Peterborough & Co

The Pompey boss is of the opinion that Karl Robinson’s 19th-placed side are much better than their current league placing.

And he thinks the U’s will be challenging for promotion come May – as they have been in previous seasons.

Oxford travel to Fratton Park tonight with a record of four wins and seven defeats from their 13 League One games played.

That leaves them just two points above the relegation zone and 10 points adrift of the top six as they struggle for form this season.

If they are able to turn things around, that spells danger for those teams currently vying for those top places in the division.

That includes Pompey, who sit fifth and ended a five-game league run without a win at Forest Green Rovers at the weekend.

Cowley will be hoping his side can record back-to-back League One wins for the first time since mid-September when Robinson & Co arrived at PO4 in a few hours.

However, the Blues boss is predicting a tough game against the U’s, who lost at home to Peterborough on Saturday, as he believes tonight’s opposition remain serious promotion contenders.

Speaking to The News before the game, Cowely said: ‘I think Oxford are a top team in this division. I think they've proven that over a consistent period of time.

‘They're always in and around the play-offs and I would expect by the time we get to May them to be there or thereabouts.

'They've got some really good players for the level, a good way of playing.

'To be fair to them, they've had a lot of key injuries at the beginning of the year and that probably disrupted them and prevented them getting the shape and style they wanted to play.

'We expect them to be a force

'I watched them play against Exeter the Saturday before last and they raced into a 4-0 lead.

'They played with a real rhythm and real control, they were very, very good with the ball, carried a real threat on the counter-attack and had a real energy and intensity against the ball.

'There's a lot to like, they looked like a top League One team in that game and we're expecting a really tough evening come tonight.'