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DeutschBaxter urges Exeter's Pearson to keep on improving - Yahoo Sports Canada
Pick of the stats: Preston North End v Oxford United
The Championship weekend gets under way at Deepdale on Friday night (20:00 GMT) as Oxford United head to Preston aiming to leap out of the relegation zone.
The second-bottom U's have been in the bottom three for all but three days since early December, but last Saturday's 2-1 win over West Brom means another three points at North End would see them leapfrog Leicester and Albion, dragging the Baggies into the drop-zone on goal difference ahead of Saturday's matches.
The Lilywhites lost 2-0 at home to Millwall on Saturday and have dropped eight points below the play-off places of the back of a run of one win in nine league games, which have earned them just six points and leaves them 11th, with the prospect of dropping into the bottom half for the first time this season if results don't go their way.
- Preston North End are looking to complete only their second ever league double over Oxford United, doing so in the 1999/00 campaign.
- Oxford have won one of their past five league games against Preston (D1 L3), a 3-1 home win in August 2024 under Des Buckingham.
- Preston have lost three home Championship matches in 2026 so far (W2 D1), only one fewer than they lost throughout the entirety of 2025 at Deepdale (W7 D11 L4).
- Oxford United won their most recent league game, beating West Bromwich Albion 2-1, but they haven't had consecutive Championship wins since January 2025 – the second win of which was against Luton Town, then managed by Matt Bloomfield.
- Jamie Donley has been involved in eight goals in his past 10 EFL starts (2 goals, 6 assists), assisting on his first start for Oxford in their 2-1 win over West Brom last time out.
AC Milan Vs Inter Milan – Turkey Megastar To Return To Starting Lineup For The First Time After Eight Serie A Games
Inter Milan playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu is reportedly in line for his first Serie A start since early January as the Nerazzurri take on AC Milan on Sunday.
According to Tuttosport via FCInterNews, the Turkish midfielder will regain his place in the middle of the park at the expense of Piotr Zielinski.
Hakan Calhanoglu suffered a nasty calf injury during Inter’s 2-2 home draw against defending champions Napoli at the beginning of the calendar year.
Therefore, he has not started any of Inter’s last eight league matches, though he made a cameo appearance in a dramatic Derby d’Italia win over Juventus.
Furthermore, he returned to the scoresheet last weekend, converting a penalty in a 2-0 victory over Genoa.
Hakan Calhanoglu to Start in AC Milan vs Inter Milan Clash
MILAN, ITALY – DECEMBER 06: Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Como 1907 at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on December 06, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Manager Cristian Chivu brought the 32-year-old back to the starting XI in Tuesday’s scoreless Coppa Italia draw at Como.
Moreover, the 45-year-old is ready to hand the former AC Milan man his first league start in two months this weekend.
On the other hand, Zielinski, who has excelled in this role during Calhanoglu’s absence, will move further up the pitch.
Indeed, instead of operating as a deep-lying playmaker, the Polish ace will take Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s place on the left side of midfield.