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The Blues prepare to welcome the Robins to Cumbria on Sunday afternoon for a 2pm kick-off, hoping to break their duck against the visitors, five of the six games between the two sides at Brunton Park having ended in draws.
The most recent encounter between the two teams in Cumbria was less than a year ago, in January 2006, where the two sides shared the spoils courtesy of a 1-1 result in a League Two match. A Kevin Gray own goal four minutes into the three minutes of injury time that referee Scott Mathieson had allotted costing Carlisle the chance of top spot in the division that day. New-Hull City striker Michael Bridges had given the Blues a 40th minute lead in front of 6,759 spectators but Gray's late, late intervention in a keenly-fought contest on a wintry afternoon stopped United from gaining all three points.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2005/2006 | Sat 21 Jan | Carlisle | 1 - 1 | Cheltenham | LGE2 |
| 2005/2006 | Sat 05 Nov | Cheltenham | 1 - 0 | Carlisle | FAC |
| 2005/2006 | Sat 17 Sep | Cheltenham | 2 - 3 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 2003/2004 | Sat 01 May | Carlisle | 1 - 1 | Cheltenham | LGE2 |
| 2003/2004 | Sat 22 Nov | Cheltenham | 2 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 2001/2002 | Tue 16 Apr | Carlisle | 0 - 0 | Cheltenham | LGE2 |
| 2001/2002 | Sat 15 Sep | Cheltenham | 2 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
Recent respective form guides
Carlisle have lost just once in their last six home games, winning four and drawing the other one, the one defeat coming against Torquay 2-1. A total of nine goals have been scored by the Cumbrians in those games, with five conceded.
Cheltenham's away form is equally impressive, picking up four victories from the last six games on the road in the league, plus a 1-0 win over Grimsby Town at the Millennium Stadium in last season's League Two play-off final. The games have constituted a decent return of twelve goals for the Robins, and six goals against.
Carlisle's eight points from five games sees them lie inside the top half of the table, in ninth position, after the games so far this weekend, the Blues having won two, drawn two and lost one in the league to post a goal difference of plus two.
Cheltenham's excellent total of nine points from their five games sees them sitting in the last play-off place, in sixth, in the League One table. The Robins having won three, including a surprise 2-1 win at Swansea on the opening day of the season, and lost two to show a goal difference of 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 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 9 |
| Cheltenham | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 12 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
United are performing very well at home, but your FootyMad panel reckons that the overall quality of Cheltenham will prove too much for the homesters. Away win
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Carlisle | Drawn each of their last two games. Unbeaten in the last three home games. |
| Cheltenham | Eleven games since last away draw. |