Oxford United’s rising stars will be given an opportunity to stake a claim for a place in the squad at the start of the season as they visit Oxford City tonight.

The Sky Bet League Two kick-off is just 11 days away and chances to make an impression are beginning to run out.

United intend to bring a full contingent, but the younger players in their new development squad are expected to take centre stage after playing only a minor role in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Birmingham City.

Tyrone Marsh, Callum O’Dowda, Kenzer Lee and Max Crocombe could all start, while Josh Shama may make his first appearance after missing the start of pre-season with a minor knee problem.

The two clubs have increasingly strong links, and United regularly use the artificial pitch at Marsh Lane during bad weather.

U’s boss Chris Wilder is expecting a tough workout and is happy to give something back to City.

He said: “It will be another good competitive game for us. We’ll take everybody there, maybe some of the younger players will get more minutes than they did against Birmingham, which will be good for them.

“Oxford City have been good to us and we’re grateful for the help they give us through the season, especially when the bad weather is around, so we’re looking forward to helping them.”

The Conference North campaign does not begin until August 17, so City are a fortnight behind the U’s in their preparations.

They won 4-0 at Didcot Town on Saturday, making ten changes at half-time.

Manager Mike Ford wants to see his side stay patient in a game where he expects the opposition to dominate possession.

He said: “I wanted a couple of games to ease ourselves into it before that game, but sometimes in pre-season you need games against teams that are going to have more of the ball than you, so you can work on your shape and your organisation.

“It's worked out nicely, we’ve got no injuries and we look reasonably fit, so it’s time now for the lads to be playing 70-80 minutes and almost getting a full game.”

City are likely to field several ex-United players, including Steve Basham, Declan Benjamin and Andy Gunn, but Paul Stonehouse (ankle) and Lee Henderson (calf) will again miss out.

TONIGHT’S SQUADS

Oxford City: from Francoz, Clifton, Flanagan, Self, Ballard, Learoyd, Cook, Pond, Mitchell, Basham, Maabdi, Scott, Benjamin, Malone, Willmott, Gunn, Ariyibi, McNish, Symonds, Green, Winters.

Oxford Utd: from Crocombe, Bevans, Long, Lee, Lynn, Davies, Hall, Meades, O’Dowda, Marsh, Kitson, Constable, Smalley, Shama, Rigg, Potter, Rose, Whing, Hunt, Newey, Raynes, Wright, Heath, Clarke.