ANTHONY Forde is ready to go for Oxford United tonight as they attempt to get the better of Peterborough United for the second time in four days.

The winger is one of several players looking to make the most of an opportunity as boss Karl Robinson makes changes for the Carabao Cup first round tie.

Forde has been steadily building up his workload after missing most of pre-season.

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The summer signing made his debut as a late substitute in Saturday’s 1-0 victory against the Posh in Sky Bet League One, which whetted his appetite for more.

He said: “It was only a few minutes, but it’s a start. I haven’t had a pre-season, so it’s just easing my way into it and I can’t wait to get going properly.

“I feel fit to be fair, it’s just the more games I get the sharper I’ll get.”

Forde may have only been around the camp for a couple of weeks, but he has seen enough from United’s bright start, which began with a draw at Sunderland, to suggest they can have a good season.

The 25-year-old said: “To perform like that against two of the better teams you’ve got to be looking at the top six as a goal for the team.

“I think Peterborough would have been confident coming into the game, but they got a bit of a shock.

“Hopefully we can win again on Tuesday.”

Fellow new signing Elliott Moore is also a candidate for a first start, while Robinson has a decision to make on whether Jamie Mackie would be better off being rested with one eye on Saturday’s league trip to Blackpool.

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Jamie Hanson is expected to come into the side and he knows that with the bar set high so far, whoever gets a chance this evening has to impress – or else they face a longer spell on the sidelines.

He said: “You want to perform well because if you don’t then it could be three or four weeks before you get back on the pitch.

“Even if they’ve had two good performances, if you play well the shirt could be yours.

“I think that’s got to be the mindset going into Tuesday and hopefully we can get into the next round.

“Last year we had Man City in the third round and why wouldn’t we try to do that again?

“I don’t know why we couldn’t go on another good run and get one of the big boys.

“That’s the aim.”

TONIGHT’S LINE-UPS

Oxford Utd: from Eastwood, Long, Dickie, Moore, Ruffels, Hanson, Gorrin, Forde, Woodburn, Fosu, Napa, Hall, Sykes, Mackie, Henry, Lopes, Lofthouse, Brannagan, Mousinho, McMahon, Cadden, Stevens.

Peterborough Utd: from Pym, Mason, Kent, Beevers, Butler, Maddison, Woodyard, Boyd, Dembele, Eisa, Toney, Kanu, Ward, Reed, Blake-Tracy, Knight, Naismith, Chapman.