OXFORD United may have slipped five points outside the Sky Bet League One play-off places, but with two-thirds of the season gone they are not far off course.

Looking at the past ten seasons in the third tier, the average points total for the side finishing in the final play-off place - sixth - is 73.2.

The figures are broadly similar, with the exception of Huddersfield Town's 80 points in 2009/10, while at the other end of the spectrum Chesterfield snuck in five years later with 69.

Oxford Mail:

However, Bury's demise means this season the total will almost certainly be lower, as it is a 44-game campaign.

The 73.2 average total equates to 1.59 points per game (PPG) across a full season.

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Deducting two matches' worth leads to a new target of 70 this time around.

So far the U's have accumulated 45 points from 29 games - the equivalent of 1.55 PPG.

Oxford Mail:

That is only a point below the target line, leaving Karl Robinson's men with 25 more to find from their final 15 games (at 1.67 PPG).

It equates to:

  • 8 Wins, 1 Draw, 6 Defeats
  • 7 Wins, 4 Draws, 4 Defeats
  • 6 Wins, 7 Draws, 2 Defeats
  • 5 Wins, 10 Draws, 0 Defeats

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However, while finishing sixth keeps a season alive, the record in the past decade is not promising when it comes to going on and winning promotion.

Only two sides in that time have gone up after claiming the lowest play-off spot - Barnsley in 2015/16 and Millwall 12 months later.