The U’s sit 23rd in the second tier on 39 points, with Leicester City one place above them on goal difference.
Outside the relegation zone sit Portsmouth on 40 points whilst West Bromwich Albion and Blackburn Rovers are above on 43.
Oxford have had the best run of form prior to last weekend’s defeat to Southampton, going four games unbeaten with three wins and a draw.
However, Sky Bet still has Matt Bloomfield’s men as favourites to go down with 4/11 odds.
Oxford United team celebrate Sam Long’s opener against Leicester (Image: ©Jason Dawson)
Pompey are second favourites (4/5) for relegation and Leicester third (11/8).
Over the remaining seven fixtures, data from OLBG estimates that the Yellows have the 13th most difficult games remaining, giving them a mixed chance of survival, with a difficulty rating of 57.7.
The U’s still have Pompey to play in their possibly their biggest game before the end of the season and the hosting of already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday in the penultimate match will see them expected to win three points.
The other games against Hull City, Wrexham, Derby County, Watford and Millwall all remain tough, but Oxford have proved they can take points off anyone this season.
Myles Peart-Harris evades the challenge of three Leicester men (Image: ©Jason Dawson)
Elsewhere, Gary Rowett’s Leicester are tipped as having the second-kindest run-in of the Championship, with Wednesday, Blackburn, and Pompey all still to play.
Blackburn and Pompey, though, have the equal fourth-most difficult fixtures left with clashes with the likes of league leaders Coventry City and former Premier League Ipswich Town on the horizon.
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Since their defeat to the U’s, West Brom’s form has surprisingly picked up after the toxicity in the away end at the Kassam, with the Baggies picking up two draws before two wins in their previous couple of games.
They now sit at 6/1 to go down with Sky Bet.
Cameron Brannagan celebrates scoring penalty for Oxford United (Image: ©Jason Dawson)
As Oxford’s relegation rivals undergo turbulence heading into the final run of Championship matches, the Yellows have something that their competitors perhaps do not: unity.
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In their recent impressive run, Bloomfield’s men have looked cohesive and harmonious on the pitch and have found consistency in their performances at long last.
This could not have been said for West Brom and Blackburn’s visits to OX4 in which they were toxic and disjointed.
Both have picked up results here and there since playing Oxford, but the unity and underdog mentality that the Yellows have is something that they must lean into to come at the relegation battle from an angle that their opponents cannot manage.