Oxford United are set for a stern test tonight as they host Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup second round. The Seagulls bring a wealth of top-tier experience to the Kassam Stadium, with players such as James Milner, Kaoru Mitoma and Danny Welbeck in the squad.
For Oxford, midfielder Brian De Keersmaecker arrives off the back of a pre-season injury that he has now put behind him to make his competitive debut in the 1-0 defeat at Birmingham City last weekend. The club’s summer signing says he feels ready for a demanding spell, even with three games packed into a week ahead of a weekend league clash with Coventry City.
“I’m doing well at the moment. I don’t feel anything. I got my first minutes against Birmingham, and I feel fit. I feel good,” De Keersmaecker said. “We will see because it will be a hard game and three games for me in one week, so we need to build that up and not force anything because it’s still a long season. I feel well and I feel fit though.”
He added that Brighton’s quality will be clear on the night, but Oxford will look to make life difficult and strike on the counter. “It will be very hard. We saw some clips of Brighton and they can play really good football. We’ll have a hard time, but we will try to play football on the counter, and try to score from there and try to make it hard for them because it’s a Premier League team and they will be better than us,” he explained. “They have a good team. We saw some clips, and you can see they play really good football. We will have a hard game, but hopefully we can manage to keep a clean sheet and score on the counter.”
Oxford’s ambition for De Keersmaecker was echoed by head coach Gary Rowett, who, at a recent fans’ forum at the Kassam Stadium, highlighted the young midfielder as someone with real Premier League aspirations. “I want ambitious players. I like ambitious players. I hate working with players that are just happy where they are. You want young players with a little bit of fire and a dream to play higher. We brought in the likes of Brian De Keersmaecker this summer. He wants to play in the Premier League. That’s why he’s come to England,” Rowett said.
De Keersmaecker himself reinforced his dream: “I think the Premier League is the best league in the world, so for me, it would be an achievement to play in the Premier League. I can show it if I compete against these guys, but for me, it’s a dream and I’m still working on it, so we will see maybe in the future.”
Additional value for readers: Tonight’s Cup tie offers De Keersmaecker a timely opportunity to test his readiness against a Premier League side while giving Oxford a platform to showcase young talent and push for a cup run. A strong performance could accelerate his development and bolster Oxford’s prospects this season.
Summary: De Keersmaecker heads into tonight’s Carabao Cup clash against Brighton prepared to test himself against elite opposition, pursuing a Premier League dream and hoping to help Oxford make a deep cup run.