With the festive period almost ‘pon us, it seems reasonable to get this preview written before the effects of the over-indulgences take hold. We can’t promise the same restraint for forthcoming matches. The first game takes place on Sunday, in the rural Northants hamlet of Irthlingborough, home to hobbits and Doc Martens. Opponents Rushden & Diamonds are one of the few teams below Oxford in the league.

At the time of writing there are no new signings in Ramon Diaz’s squad, although a number of players seem to have been given trials by the Us. Among them are Ramon’s two sons, Emiliano, a midfielder with Italian nationality who has played for River Plate and Talleres de Cordoba in Argentina, and Deportivo Colonia in Uruguay, and Michael, a defender who has yet to play professionally. United have also had French striker Bruno Rodrigues on trial from Bastia, and an as yet unidentified French goalkeeper. On the debit side, midfielder Michael Alexis, who turned professional two years ago but who has yet to play for the first team, has been informed that his contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of this month. In the absence of any new players, we can probably expect a similar line-up to the previous two matches, although with Jon Ashton returned from suspension he could be challenging either David Woozley or former Diamond Leo Roget for a place in defence.

Rushden have been on a fairly steep decline since bootmaker Max Griggs withdrew his financial backing almost exactly a year ago, with the Diamonds mid-table a division higher. They haven’t won a league game since the end of October and have been rocked by the news that first choice goalkeeper tubby Billy Turley has been suspended by the club pending a police investigation. He is replaced by Lee Worgan.

All things considered, this is a game that Oxford should win. No, really, they should win, but that doesn’t mean to say they will. Our scrooge-like prediction suggests that this match will finish 1-1, with their goal courtesy of yet another defensive blunder. Bah, humbug!