United welcome Grays Athletic to Oxford tomorrow, in the latest instalment of this interesting season. Grays were second behind Oxford before Tuesday, after which a 2-0 defeat at Gravesend & Northfleet sent the Essex club tumbling down to 5th. This just shows how tight the competition is for the top places, and despite a five-point gap between Oxford and second-placed Dagenham & Redbridge, United can’t afford to relax, get complacent, or take their eye off the ball in their bid for an immediate return to the Football League.

Jim Smith may decide to retain the side that started in the win over Exeter on Tuesday, although captain Phil Gilchrist will have a late fitness test, and he could play if his achilles is okay. Leading scorer Rob Duffy, the Conference Player of the Month for August, is unlikely to feature, despite approaching full fitness, and he could be kept back for the televised match at Crawley on Monday. Chris Hargreaves will serve the last of his three-match ban tomorrow, and will therefore also be in contention to play on Monday. Barry Quinn is unlikely to be United’s penalty taker, should the Us receive another spot kick tomorrow from referee Craig Evans.

Grays will undoubtedly provide United with yet another tough test, and Oxford’s 100 per cent home record could well come under threat, especially considering Grays’ twin strike threat of Aaron McLean and Michael Kightly. Should United avoid defeat, however, this sequence will represent the best start to a season since United turned professional in 1949 (and possibly ever, should anyone care enough to do the research). In keeping with our cautious approach to everything concerning Oxford United (once bitten, forever shy), Rage Online is predicting a 1-1 draw. This is done in the expectation that we are wrong nine times out of ten (please note, this is not a statistically proven fact, just how it feels to us).