United face another long trip this evening as they travel down to the Weston Homes Community Stadium to take on Colchester United (kick-off 7-45pm) and look to maintain their unbeaten start to the npower League One season.

Last weekend's 4-1 win over MK Dons not only meant United had yet to lose in the league this season - it also propelled them to the top of the table on goal difference.

With United playing on the Friday night ahead of the rest of the League One fixtures, Greg Abbott's side have the chance to cement their place as the early pace setters in the division.

They'll have to be at their best if they want to get all three points though, as they face another side who have yet to taste defeat this season.

Colchester, with a win and two draws, have started the season brightly and will be looking to maintain their decent home record against United this evening, having won the previous two games against them at the Weston Homes Community Stadium.

Having just missed out on the play-offs last season under previous boss Aidy Boothroyd, now find themselves under the stewardship of a familiar face to United fans.

John Ward, who led United to the League One play-offs in 2008, has taken over as manager at the U's, having been Boothroyd's assistant last season. Despite a midweek defeat to Sunderland in the Carling Cup, his side will be confident of picking up a first home win of the season this evening. It should provide another tough test for United, but after a decent point at Plymouth last time on their travels, the players will be confident of getting another good result this evening. 

The two clubs have met on 35 occasions, with United picking up 12 wins to Colchester's 16 and 7 games ending as draws.

United will be wearing their red away shirt and shorts this evening. To get the latest on the kit drama's of United kitman Andy Hall, you can follow him on twitter at twitter.com/cufckit - there is also an official club twitter which can be found at twitter.com/officialcufc

You can now also become a fan of United on Facebook! Simply visit www.facebook.com/carlisleunitedfc and select the "Like" option at the top of the page to show your support and receive regular updates and get involved with discussions with other fans. We're now past the 6,000 mark for fans, so let's keep it up!

PRE-MATCH COMMENTS

United manager Greg Abbott, speaking ahead of this evening's game, said:

"We know Colchester are going to be tough to beat on Friday. They're mindful of conceding goals and have had an unbeaten start themselves so far. The onus will be on them to come out and attack being the home side but I know they'll be keen to stop us getting control of the game so we'll have to be aware of that.

"It's another tough game for us. If we keep performing like we have we know we're more than capable of getting a positive result out of it. We want to make sure we put in a professional performance that can set us up for the next home game against Swindon.

"Of course we want to avoid a late goal like we got there last season but that's just because we don't want to lose games. Maybe we were unlucky that time, as we maybe were the other week at Plymouth but we probably got a bit of the rub of the green on Saturday against MK Dons so it works both ways." 

United Player subscribers can see a video interview with Greg Abbott. To find out more about United Player, and to subscribe, click HERE.

Colchester United manager John Ward, speaking ahead of this evening's game, said:

"If we win we could go top.

"People say that the league table doesn't count for anything until 12 games in, while you hear managers say they would rather be somewhere in May than August. Whatever anyone says though, being up there does feel good.

"The game doesn't mean any more to me because of what's happened before.

"I look back on my period there very fondly and don't have any regrets.

"I think they have recruited well over the summer, but I'm happy to put my line-up against theirs to see how it goes."

UNITED TEAM NEWS

United have no new injury concerns ahead of the trip to Essex and could even have one player available for selection again.

Forward Jason Price missed the games against Plymouth and MK Dons due to a small thigh muscle tear but returned to training earlier this week. He could available for selection again if required.

Defender Danny Livesey remains out as he continues his recovery from a groin injury and Andy Cook and Richard Offiong are both unavailable as they continue their loan spells at Barrow and Darlington respectively.

COLCHESTER UNITED TEAM NEWS

The U's squad includes some familiar faces to United fans, but one of those players could miss out on the chance to face his former side.

Goalkeeper Ben Williams made the move from Essex to Cumbria at the start of last season and ended up as Player of the Season at the Weston Homes Community Stadium. But the former Manchester United player has been sidelined in recent weeks with an ankle injury and is unlikely to be risked, with Mark Cousins likely to deputise.

Of the three other former Blues in the squad, Marc Tierney is likely to feature, while Paul Reid and Simon Hackney could miss out. Reid is a doubt due to a hip injury, while Hackney has been out of favour, featuring just once on the bench and yet to make an appearance.

Also a doubt for the U's is record signing Steve Gillespie, who missed the midweek Carling Cup clash with Sunderland due to injury.

REF WATCH

The referee for this evening's game will be Gavin Ward.

He last took charge of a United game last season for the trip to MK Dons. It proved to be a busy evening for Mr Ward, with seven goals shared between the two sides. United ran out 4-3 winners in the end with goals from Pericard (2), Hurst and Anyinsah. The Dons' goals came from Chadwick (2) and Baldock. Four players were booked that evening, with Kavanagh, Clayton and Taiwo receiving cautions for United and Swailes for the Dons.

Taking up assistant referee duties will be Tony Mason and Wade Norcott, with Wes Linden in the fourth official role.

TICKET NEWS

This game is NOT all-ticket and fans can pay on the gate. Full details on prices are available by clicking here.

BETTING NEWS

With the first game upon us, it's not just a new Football League season that has arrived, but there's also a new online betting partner for the Football League.

Coral Bet are the new official online betting partner and every bet you make with them helps the club earn more revenue.

United have got off to a flying start in League One this season but despite lying top of the table after three games, have been made clear outsiders for the game at odds of 5/2. Home side Colchester are themselves unbeaten in the league with a win and two draws and are favourites to pick up all three points at 11/10. You can back the game to be a draw at 23/10.

Ivorian forward Francois Zoko opened his scoring account last week in the 4-1 win over MK Dons. He'll be looking to get a run of goals going now and if you fancy him to score first against the U's, you can back him at 15/2 to be first goalscorer. Combine that with a 1-0 win to the Blues in a scorecast and you get odds of 45/1. 

For details on odds available on the game as well as other fixtures across Europe and other sports, visit the Coral website by clicking HERE.