Oxford United visit Mansfield Town tonight hoping to break the club record for consecutive clean sheets, and thereby maintain their unbeaten record for the season. United have kept out the opposition in their last six matches, equalling the period between 21 December 1963, when Oxford won 2-0 at York in the Fourth Division, and 18 January 1964, a 0-0 draw at Rochdale. That sequence included a 1-0 win over Chesterfield in the FA Cup third round, so the Us have already beaten the record of five consecutive league clean sheets, set at the start of the 1960-61 season in the Southern League. That season, of course, United went on to be Southern League champions, so let's hope for a repeat performance.

The team that Chris Wilder will select tonight is unlikely to vary too much from that of previous games. Steven Kinniburgh stands by to return to the side at left back in place of Kevin Sandwith, following a one-game suspension that saw him miss the 4-0 win over Eastbourne Borough. Jack Midson staked his claim for a starting place with a superb goal in that match to get off the mark, but with the other three strikers also scoring he may have to settle for a place on the bench again. The Us will be without the injured Marcus Kelly and Rhys Day, but otherwise Wilder has a full squad from which to choose. He will be hoping that his harsh words after the Eastbourne game will have done their job and will be looking for a positive reaction from the side in what is possibly their hardest test on the road to date.

Mansfield have a few problems of their own. They have lost their last four games and have slipped to ninth place, already 12 points behind the Us. They come into this game with two significant players missing through suspension in Gary Mills and Kyle Perry, while former United striker and Stags' leading scorer Rob Duffy was injured in their 1-0 defeat at Rushden & Diamonds and won't be fit to score any penalties against his old side. However, Mansfield do still have players such as Daryl Clare, Matt Somner, and Kyle Nix so are not to be taken lightly. A point this evening should be regarded as a decent return. [@opponent]mansfield town[/@opponent][@connection]mansfield town[/@connection]