COLCHESTER United striker Steven Gillespie will face Norwich City in this evening's friendly at Carrow Road, kick off 5pm. The record signing is back after missing the past three pre-season games with a tight calf injury looking to get straight back to his goal-scoring ways.

Derek Davis

COLCHESTER United striker Steven Gillespie will face Norwich City in this evening's friendly at Carrow Road, kick off 5pm.

The record signing is back after missing the past three pre-season games with a tight calf injury looking to get straight back to his goal-scoring ways.

The U's are also looking forward to seeing more of Phil Ifil but will be without Matt Heath and Dave Perkins for this game and are doubts for the home match against Athletico Bilbao on Monday.

The game against the Spanish giants will be the U's only home game before travelling to Hartlepool for the League One kick off.

The warm up against Championship side Norwich is being played at 5pm simply as a precaution against it being a hot day,

Canaries boss Glen Roeder is looking for his side to use game as a way of being ready for the Championship kick off next week after the 5-1 drubbing by Spurs during the week with Darren Bent scoring four.

He said: This will be more like what we are going to come across in the Championship. Colchester were in the Championship last year and they had their moments.

“If you speak to George (manager Geraint Williams) you could say that with a little bit more luck at certain times of the season they could have stayed up. I know we beat them 5-1 but even that game wasn't really as easy as it suggested in my opinion.

“When Dion (Dublin) chipped that last one in injury time it had been a difficult game overall and they will give us a difficult game tomorrow. It is a little bit of a derby game - I chose Colchester myself.

“We invited them up here because I knew they would give us a really tough game, which is what I wanted out of the Tottenham game and they certainly gave us that and Colchester will also give us a tough game.

“You can give a false impression sometimes if you choose easy opposition and you wipe the floor with them and you go into the last week of pre-season heading towards the first game thinking everything is fantastic, and obviously you find out after the first game it's not and the season's started.

“So I wanted the last two games to be tough and Tottenham certainly made it very tough for us especially in the second half and Colchester will take all the beating. We will have to play well which I am sure we will and I'm sure we are capable of winning the game.”

Colchester United squad: Gerken, Cousins, Coyne, White, Reid, Ifil, Lockwood, Hammond (D), Jackson, Yeates, Izzet, Platt, Wordsworth, Elito, Vernon, Gillespie, Wasiu.