Police are putting extra officers on patrol and drawing up tactics for possible flash-point football matches in Colchester.
Plans are being made to boost police presence at Colchester United's home matches against Millwall on Tuesday, Luton on March 31 and Peterborough United on April 17.
Town pubs are also beefing up security on the doors in preparation for the arrival of the visiting fans.
PC Steve Casey, of Colchester police, told members of Colchester's Pub Link: "There is no specific intelligence to say we will have problems but we will be using high-profile policing at the matches."
"There were a few heated exchanges at Peterborough."
Chief Inspector Iain Logan, of Colchester police, said: "We have sufficient resources to plan for whatever may develop."
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