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The Blues welcome the south coast Seagulls all the way up to Cumbria tomorrow, looking to improve on a slightly better than average home record. United winning six of the eleven matches played between the two at Brunton Park, with the visitors making the lengthy trip back down the M6 with all three points on a healthy four occasions.
The only draw coming the last time the two teams met in Carlisle back in late April 2001, over five years ago, when they played out a goal-less game in a Division Three match in front of just 4,727 spectators at Brunton Park. That point earned being one of four draws at the end of the season that preserved United's Football League status for another year. Safety from relegation ensured in the penultimate game of the campaign with a 1-1 result at Lincoln City, the equaliser for the Blues that Wednesday night coming from Carl Heggs in the 66th minute.
Carlisle's biggest win at home to Brighton came way back in the 1972-73 season when the Blues ran out 5-1 winners in the old Second Division, nine days before Christmas Day 1972. The goals that day coming from a Bobby Owen hat-trick, Les O'Neill and Tot Winstanley, albeit in front of just 5,671 spectators inside Brunton Park. United's biggest defeat meanwhile came in the 1984-85 season, the Cumbrians losing 3-0 on the opening day of the Division Two campaign, Terry Connor, Steve Penney and Danny Wilson bagging the goals for the Seagulls as just 4,721 spectators watched the action unfold.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2000/2001 | Sat 21 Apr | Carlisle | 0 - 0 | Brighton | LGE2 |
| 2000/2001 | Sat 04 Nov | Brighton | 4 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1999/2000 | Sat 06 May | Brighton | 1 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1999/2000 | Sat 09 Oct | Carlisle | 0 - 1 | Brighton | LGE2 |
| 1998/1999 | Sat 09 Jan | Brighton | 1 - 3 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1998/1999 | Sat 08 Aug | Carlisle | 1 - 0 | Brighton | LGE2 |
| 1996/1997 | Sat 15 Feb | Carlisle | 2 - 1 | Brighton | LGE2 |
Recent respective form guides
United have been playing quite well at home recently, winning three, drawing two, and losing just one of their last six matches at Brunton Park, that defeat coming 2-1 against Torquay last season. A total of nine goals have been scored by the Cumbrians in those games, with just five conceded.
Brighton have had an average recent record on the road as of late, winning two of the last six, but losing the other four, the two victories coming by virtue of narrow 1-0 wins at Rotherham and Millwall. Only five goals have been registered in this time, with seven leaked at the wrong end.
United's total of 14 points from their nine games sees them sitting in the last of the play-off places in the League One table, although at this early stage of the season only five points seperates the Blues and Northampton Town one spot above the relegation zone in 20th.
Brighton's identical haul of 14 points from nine games sees them three places below Carlisle in ninth position, Albion's goal difference being three goals worse than that of the Cumbrians at just plus one.
For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here
| Current home and away form guides: | P | W | D | L | F | A | P |
| Carlisle | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Brighton | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 7 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
The match against Brighton is certainly an interesting one with the Footymad panel deciding it's going to end up with a victory for the Cumbrians in a close run game. Home Win
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Carlisle | Unbeaten in the last five home games. Not won in the four most recent matches. |
| Brighton | Nine games since last away draw. |