OXFORD United visit neighbours Oxford City tonight, with both sides likely to name strong line-ups.

The freezing weather wiped out the pair's league fixtures last weekend, so they intend to use the Oxfordshire Senior Cup semi-final at Court Place Farm (7.30) to keep players sharp.

For U's supporters it could mean a first chance to see Ivo Pekalski and Cameron Brannagan, who suffered injuries just after signing for the club.

It has been a much longer wait for Pekalski, with the midfielder on the sidelines since August with a serious knee injury.

He returned for the first time in a behind-closed-doors friendly at QPR last week and United intend to weigh up whether he can play on the artificial surface tonight.

Caretaker boss Derek Fazackerley said: "The only concern there is it’s being played on an artificial field and Ivo is coming back from a serious knee injury.

"Of course that will have to be assessed with the medical department, but Ivo won’t be new to playing on artificial pitches.

"He will have played on many in Scandinavia where they are more widely used than over here.

"It might be something he’s willing to consider and if that’s the case then the game on Tuesday will be an opportunity."

Malachi Napa, Mike Williamson and Dwight Tiendalli are among the other first-team players in the frame to feature.

Midfielder Rob Sinclair is a doubt (dead leg) for City, while Udoka Godwin-Malife is cup-tied after featuring for the Nomads earlier in the competition.

But otherwise Mark Jones is planning to name his strongest side.

He said: "We're taking the game seriously, so it will be our first-team squad.

"We're looking forward to it. We didn't play last Saturday, so this means we won't have to wait two weeks for a game."