Colchester will be hoping their recent revival continues when they play host to Scunthorpe.
Us out to continue recent revival against Iron
Colchester will be hoping their recent revival continues when they play host to Scunthorpe.
The Us have won three of their last four League One fixtures, a sequence of results which has helped to lift them clear of the relegation zone.
The Iron remain among the title challengers, but only two wins in seven outings has seen them slip out of the automatic promotion places.
Colchester team news
Matt Heath and Paul Reid are doubts for Colchester heading into the weekend.
Heath had to come off just six minutes into Tuesday night's Johnstone's Paint Trophy defeat at Luton with a gashed head while fellow centre-half Reid missed out with a virus and is struggling to be fit.
Pat Baldwin and Chris Coyne will start at the back if both men are ruled out.
Sam Tierney will hope to return at left-back after being cup-tied in midweek, although John White played well in his absence.
Striker Steven Gillespie made a substitute appearance at Kenilworth Road after two months out with a hamstring injury and could start now on-loan Jermaine Easter has returned to Plymouth with a knee injury.
Meanwhile, Us boss Paul Lambert has made full-back Phil Ifil available for a loan move in January.
Scunthorpe team news
Scunthorpe boss Nigel Adkins is hoping to have striker Gary Hooper and midfielder Grant McCann available.
The pair missed the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Northern Area semi-final win over Tranmere in midweek with calf and hamstring injuries respectively but have returned to training and should feature.
Skipper Izzy Iriekpen also missed the Tranmere clash with a chest infection but is likely to return against the Us.
Striker Paul Hayes returned from a fractured cheekbone wearing a protective mask to score the winning goal against Rovers and is set to be on the bench once again.
Fellow striker Jonathan Forte will miss out due to illness, while winger Kevan Hurst is not expected to feature again until the New Year as he recovers from a hernia operation.
Kenny Milne (knee) is unavailable and fellow defender David Mirfin remains sidelined with a knee ligament injury, but it is hoped he will return for the Boxing Day trip to Brighton.
