DES Buckingham hopes the defensive solidity shown by Oxford United in their last three games will put them in good stead when they travel to free-scoring Peterborough United.

No team has scored more goals than the Posh in Sky Bet League One so far this season, with Bolton Wanderers matching their total of 37.

The U’s managed to keep a clean sheet in the goalless draw at home to the Trotters in their last league game, securing further shutouts against Grimsby Town and Forest Green Rovers in the Emirates FA Cup and EFL Trophy respectively.

The next test for United will be a Peterborough side which boasts three players who have already hit more than half a dozen goals this season, in top scorer Ephron Mason-Clark, plus Jonson Clarke-Harris and Kwame Poku.

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Buckingham though is taking the positives from the draw with Bolton, as he takes the U’s to London Road.

He said: “Bolton was the last league game and I thought we played extremely well in that, and we’re expecting a very similar test against Peterborough.

“They’ve got a very good team that has been together for a long period of time, and the manager has been there for a very long period.

“We’ll prepare as well as we did for Bolton, and we’re looking forward to picking back up in the league.”

Oxford Mail:

Posh manager Darren Ferguson has previously overseen four promotions in charge of the club, and Buckingham expects them to once again be challenging at the top end of the table this campaign.

He said: “We’ve had three clean sheets consecutively, so hopefully we’re as well-drilled and set-up defensively as we need to be, because we know the threats that they pose.

“But also, we know the players we have and how threatening we can be, and we’ve shown that in each of the last three games that we’ve played, so we’ll certainly look to do that again at Peterborough.

“From what we’ve seen so far, and what they’ve been able to do, I’d certainly say they’ll be up and amongst it.

“It’s another good test for us and gives us an idea to see where we are. We’ve done well up to this point, but it’s important we continue to compete with and challenge these teams if we’re to finish where we all want.

“You don’t want to give teams that you know will be up and around there at the end of the season any more points to their advantage.

“We’ll make sure we do everything we can to perform and put ourselves in the best position to get the result.”