STEVE Bruce is wary of the threat Oxford United can pose his Newcastle United side in tomorrow's Emirates FA Cup clash.

The U's head into the fourth round tie having already shocked Premier League opponents this season, beating West Ham United 4-0 in the Carabao Cup in September.

Karl Robinson's side then gave holders Manchester City a scare in the quarter-finals of the same competition, before losing 3-1.

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Bruce is expecting the U's to be gunning for victory and knows anything can happen in a one-off game.

He said: “As I’ve always said, it’s the beauty of the FA Cup; the lower club will always raise their game.

"For one game in particular, they can play at the level that we can play at.

"We hope we can play at our maximum and the one thing we’ll have to match is their work-rate and endeavour.

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"If we don’t and we take them lightly, then you come unstuck, and we’ve seen it many, many times over the years the FA Cup has been going.

"In this country in particular, we love the underdog, so we have to be wary of that and perform. If we perform well, then I’m quietly confident.”