Crystal Palace, who saved their Division 1 skins in dramatic circumstances last Sunday, will be Oxford United's opponents in the first game at The Kassam Stadium.

The new ground takes shapePalace have been pencilled in for the only pre-season friendly to be played at the new stadium, on Saturday, August 4.

Palace survived in Division 1 by winning their final two games, both away, at Portsmouth and Stockport, with Dougie Freedman getting the winner at Stockport four minutes from time, to send Huddersfield down.

One of the main links between United and the south London club was Palace's assistant manager Ray Houghton, but he has now left Selhurst Park along with boss Alan Smith.

United, who will once again spend the early part of pre-season by staying at a Navy base near Portsmouth, to try to get fit for the new campaign, are also scheduled to play three pre-season away games.

The first will be at Oxford City and there are others planned for Woking and Kingstonian. They will also enter the Thame Tournament again, though this is more for their reserve team players.

All of the matches are still to be confirmed by the club, however, and new manager Mark Wright has been sent details of the pre-season schedule by fax to see if he wants to make any alterations before they are firmed up.

The pros are due to return on Thursday, July 5 but although some of them had thought this season was finished, they are being asked back in to the Manor so that Wright can cast his eye over the squad.

The players are being asked to return on Monday, though some are injured, and some, such as Jon Richardson, are already away on holiday.

But Wright should be able to look at around 20 of them, and he hopes to organise at least one practice game to get an idea of his playing strength.