Wayne Brown's side will be aiming to pick up more points on the road this evening, as the U's head to play-off chasing Bristol Rovers.
Colchester United are on a four game unbeaten run with two wins and two draws helping to pull Wayne Brown's side away from the drop zone in League Two.
The U's came from behind on Saturday to beat Scunthorpe United 3-1 on the road, as Noah Chilvers stole the show with his two-goal haul, and Owura Edwards also on target for his third since joining the club on loan.
And the U's will be wanting to continue that momentum into this evening's game, after being buoyed by the returns of Cole Skuse and Owura Edwards on Saturday.
The club will also check on the fitness of Tom Dallison and Alan Judge who both picked up slight knocks over the last couple of weeks, with the game against Bristol Rovers Tommy Smith's last before heading out on international duty.
The Opposition
An impressive run of form has seen Bristol Rovers shoot up the table from seventeenth, to eighth. But a tightly packed set of teams from second to ninth, means any one of those could move into the automatic promotion spaces with a win.
Joey Barton's side have lost just one of their last nine games, propelling them up the standings, and in with a real chance of gaining promotion from the fourth tier.
Rovers have come out on top in their last two outings, with victories against Harrogate Town and Crawley Town, results that will give them further confidence going into the game against the U's this evening.
And Barton is confident his side can continue to make improvements on the pitch, speaking before the game against the U's.
"I think we’re playing well. The form table will attest to that. We’ve picked points up, but we still think we’ve got another two or three gears to go as a group and as a team. We still feel that we’ve got the best in front of us.
"We want to go and win every game because we are capable of winning every single game and that starts on Tuesday night. We have to take them one at a time. It’s a cup final on Tuesday and we’ve got to go and empty the tanks again as we have been in the last two months. The lads are thriving under the pressure and that type of expectation."
Former Colchester United loanee, Aaron Collins leads the scoring charts with thirteen to his name, with three of those strikes coming in the last two games for Rovers. Collins made a slow start to life at Rovers, but his form kicked into life mid-way through the season with twelve in his last eighteen games in all competitions.
But it's Anthony Evans with the most goal contributions with ten assists and nine goals to his name in all competitons this season. The twenty-three-year-old attacking midfielder plays just behind Collins up front and has is joint-fourth in the league standings of goals and assists throughout the campaign.
In defence, Connor Taylor has been an almost ever-present fixture across the back line. The central defender joined Rovers on loan from Stoke City, and has been one of the top performers in the side, picking up the EFL's Young Player Of The Month accolade in October.
Between the sticks, James Belshaw has been the regular starting 'keeper for Barton's team. The former Harrogate Town shot-stopper has kept eleven clean sheets in thirty-one games so far, with his last coming on Saturday in the 3-0 win against his former side.
Match Officials
Sam Allison will be the referee for this evening's game. He has taken charge of twenty-six games so far this season, issuing 103 cautions, and 6 red cards. His last game officiating the U's was in earlier this campaign, in the 1-1 draw at home to Mansfield Town in August.
He will be assisted by Louis Marks, Christopher Kidd and Andrew Hendley for this evening's game.
Last Time We Met
It was an entertaining affair in the earlier meeting between the two clubs this season. The visitors took the lead with Brett Pitman nodding his side ahead in the second half. After Rovers were reduced to ten men with Cian Harries dismissed, the U's got back on level terms with Noah Chilvers firing a volley into the corner of the net.
The ranks were reduced for both sides in stoppage time though, as both Junior Tchamadeu and Trevor Clarke were shown red cards for scrapping near the dugout.
Ticket Info
Click HERE for all the latest ticketing info for the game against Bristol Rovers.
Streaming Info
If you can't get to the game in Bristol this evening, it's available to stream on iFollow for £10. Click HERE to get your Match Pass and support the U's on the road.