Oxford United are out to prove people wrong at promotion-chasing Port Vale today – just as they did at Chesterfield.

The U’s will need to turn the formbook upside down, but then they have often been at their best this season when playing against teams at the top.

While Vale have lost just once in eight games, Oxford are reeling from three successive defeats which have knocked their play-off hopes.

On the back of five successive defeats, United won 2-1 at table-topping Chesterfield in November and then enjoyed a winning run.

And manager Chris Wilder insists there’s plenty left to play for.

“I should imagine that a lot of people have looked at us and said ‘well, that’s their season done and dusted’,” he said.

“With 11 games to go, three at home coming up, knowing the desire and quality there is in the squad . . . I believe there’s still life in us, and we’ve got to go and prove it.”

There could be recalls for Ben Purkiss, Steve Kinniburgh, Simon Clist and Jack Midson, who were all left out of the reserves in midweek.

Yet then so too were Alfie Potter, Simon Hackney and Josh Payne, and one or more of those could also feature.

It would not be the first time Wilder has rung the changes in dramatic fashion.

He made eight changes after the New Year’s Day defeat at home to Southend for the away game at Torquay, and his new-look side won 4-3 with Midson hitting a hat-trick.

Vale’s new manager Jim Gannon likes to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, with striker Marc Richards supported by the trio just behind him of Lewis Haldane, Louis Dodds and Tom Pope.

Richards has recovered from a serious thigh injury and is bang in form.

He scored twice in the 2-2 draw at Shrewsbury in midweek and has struck three in three, keeping his namesake, and former U’s centre forward Justin Richards out of the side.

Gannon said: “Oxford are six points adrift of the top-seven play-off places and it will be a tall order to close that gap with 11 games to go.

“But they will come here thinking that this is the sort of game they need to win if they’re going to be play-off contenders.”

TOMORROW’S LINE-UPS.

Port Vale: Martin, Yates, McCombe, Collins, Taylor, Geoghan, Morsy, Haldane, Dodds, Pope, M Richards, Tomlinson, Loft, Griffith, J Richards, Sutton, R Taylor, Roberts.

Oxford Utd: (from) Clarke, Purkiss, Worley, Wright, Kinniburgh, Hall, McLaren, Clist, MacLean, Midson, Craddock, Constable, Batt, Heslop, Potter, Hackney, Payne, Sangare, Eastwood.