Well, it's Christmas Eve, the fog has gone, tomorrow is Boxing Eve, and then it's the big day of the holidays. On Boxing Day, United will have a record-breaking day, with almost 11,000 people attending the all-ticket match at home to Woking, a match that will also provide the debut for the new giant flag, which was conceived, created, and paid for by Oxford supporters. [@opponent]Woking[/@opponent]This game represents the half-way mark of the season, the Cards being the only side that United have yet to play in the Conference, and United remain unbeaten at home so far. Oxford have never played Woking in a competitive fixture. Boxing Day is traditionally a good day for United, who have lost only 11 of their 46 games on 26 December, winning 26. United secured their best win of last season on this date, beating Notts County 3-0, and haven't lost since the 2-1 defeat to Luton in 2001, in front of 11,121.

Jim Smith is certain to make some changes from the side that drew at Lewes last weekend, although he may be a bit upset that the replay was called off on Wednesday as that might have given him an opportunity to try something different. However, he knows that he is definitely without the injured Marvin Robinson and Chris Willmott, while Matt Day remains doubtful. Chris Tardif is back from his emergency trip to the Channel Isles to take up his place on the bench, which will be a disappointment to Tommy Franklin, who would have been on the bench on Wednesday. For Conference action Smith is likely to return to the 3-5-2 formation that he abandoned at the Dripping Pan, which means that one of Rufus Brevett or Gavin Johnson is likely to be dropped. Andy Burgess and Carl Pettefer are good bets to be recalled to the side, with one of those making way probably being Eddie Hutchinson, which will be a blow to Steady Eddie, who would be looking forward to playing against his twin brother Tom, who plays in defence for Woking.

Woking have lost their last three Conference games, and their last seven away matches. There is increasing discontent among their supporters, with many calling for the head of manager Glenn Cockerill. He will be relieved that he has highly rated striker Guiseppi Sole back from injury, and he can also call on goalkeeper Shwan Jalal, who has just completed a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday, although he didn't play for their first team. A number of former United players have also plied their trade with Woking, but only two have made a direct switch between the sides, with the Cards signing desperate defender Steve Wood in 1996[@player]Wood, Steve[/@player], while striker Jefferson Louis [@player]Louis, Jefferson[/@player] had a loan spell at Kingfield Sports Ground towards his time at United. This is an important game for the Yellows, who have only won one of their last six matches, and none of the last three games. Despite this, and the choking potential in front of a large crowd, Rage Online feels that the only festive prediction is an Oxford win, so we reckon 2-0, just for the hell of it.

The most significant other game taking place the day after tomorrow, as far as Oxford is concerned, is Dagenham's home game against Grays. York, who have moved into third place following their 2-0 win over Halifax yesterday, don't have a game, while fourth-placed Weymouth are at home to Exeter. Crawley, who are United's next opponents on 30 January, face a tricky trip to Gravesend, or even Northfleet.