Oxford United travel to Nene Park this evening, to take on Rushden & Diamonds.[@opponent]rushden & diamonds[/@opponent][@connection]rushden & diamonds[/@connection] Following United's success in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round at Merthyr Tydfil last Saturday, United now have a four-game unbeaten run, including two successive victories on the road. However, they have yet to win on Setanta, in six attempts, and as this is their final scheduled TV game so far, the Us will be looking to rectify that particular statistic.

United's injury crisis continues to grow, with Danny Rose the latest victim. He hobbled off towards the end of the first half at Merthyr, and will be out for a fortnight. In addition, leading scorer Yemi Odubade has had a hip problem and hasn't trained all week, so could miss out, while Eddie Hutchinson and Matt Day are both struggling to be fully fit, although Phil Gilchrist could be ready to take some part. Meanwhile, Jim Smith has further strengthened the squad by bringing in another QPR midfielder on loan, Kieron St Aimee joining for two months, and he may well go straight into the starting line-up tonight. If Yemi is unable to play, then Smith will need to decide whether Alex Fisher should start alongside loanee Jordan Rhodes, who was so impressive at Merthyr, or if there's someone else who can play up front. This could be Rhodes' last appearance for the club, as his loan spell is due to end, although Smith is talking to Jim Magilton in a bid to extend the deal. The other question is whether or not the side will have a full bench, as there aren't that many players left. Alex Jeannin is available again after missing the Merthyr trip due to suspension, but Ben Weedon played well enough (albeit slightly at fault for Merthyr's equaliser), so that gives Smith another decision to make. We suspect that he is likely to go with Jeannin's greater experience.

Rushden haven't had the best start to their second season since being relegated, and currently lie 16th in the Conference. They did beat Phil Trainer's old muckers Solihull Moors 5-0 in the FA Cup last weekend, but that was only their first home win since their first home match of the season, when they beat Farsley Celtic 1-0. Despite (or maybe because of) featuring former United players Wayne Hatswell, Andy Burgess, and Martin Foster, the Diamonds have yet to shine, and they will be looking to tonight's TV game as an opportunity to get their season back on track. They have drawn four of their eight home games, while United are also plagued by inconsistency. All of which makes Rage Online reckon that the points will be shared tonight, and we're going for 1-1, because we can't see there being too many goals in it.