United make the long trip to Darlington tomorrow (actually the team went up today, but that’s beside the point) for a tricky looking fixture against an in-form team (well, they’ve won their last two games). Oxford have hit a small run of form themselves (unbeaten in two – wow!), especially away from home (won one and drawn three of the last four on the road), so in theory this could be not a total walkover.

Oxford will still be without the ROS Chris Hackett, who will be missing the second game of his three-match ban, and Barry Quinn is also suspended for picking up an unseemly number of yellow cards. This means at least one change to the side that drew at Bury, with Paul Wanless or Mark E’Beyer likely to take Quinn’s place, while Doudou will probably remain on the bench (but who knows with United, nowadays). There have been no new players bought in yet, although a number are on trial with 28 year-old Uruguayan defender Mateo Andr?s Corbo Sottolano being tipped to sign next week.

Tomorrow’s game has been designated a “flag day” by Darlington, so expect to see a couple of England flags with ‘Darlo’ hastily scrawled on them fluttering around the four-fifths empty stadium. The Quakers beat United at the KasStad earlier this season, and also won the last time Oxford visited at the end of last season. However, there’s no telling what might happen as Oxford tango their way across the basement division, although this wouldn’t be Rage Online if we didn’t predict an Oxford defeat, and so we will – 2-0 to the Darlo boys.