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The Blues travel to south Cheshire to take on the Railwaymen on Saturday afternoon, needing to turn around their fortunes at the ground formerly known as Gresty Road. The Cumbrians will be hoping to improve upon a record which has seen them lose 21 and win only a paltry five of the 35 games between the two on Alex' turf, nine of the matches ending in draws.
The last time the two teams met at the Alexandra Stadium was almost 11 years ago in mid-October 1995, the Railwaymen carving out a narrow 2-1 victory in a Division Two (third tier) match. The goals for the home side that day coming from homegrown Alex' defender Robert Edwards and now Premiership star Robbie Savage, Rory Delap bagging the United goal as 4,512 spectators looked on.
The Blues last won away to Crewe in the game before that one, in the 1993-94 season, Carlisle being victorious by the odd goal in five. United were 2-1 up at the break and would go on to win 3-2 against an Alex' side that were automatically promoted, in third place, at the end of the campaign. A Rod Thomas brace and a goal from Jamie Robinson securing all three points for Carlisle, with lower league hotshot Tony Naylor scoring both goals for Crewe in front of a Gresty Road crowd of just 3,679 spectators.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 1995/1996 | Tue 02 Apr | Carlisle | 1 - 0 | Crewe | LGE1 |
| 1995/1996 | Sat 14 Oct | Crewe | 2 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 1993/1994 | Mon 04 Apr | Crewe | 2 - 3 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1993/1994 | Tue 28 Dec | Carlisle | 1 - 2 | Crewe | LGE2 |
| 1992/1993 | Tue 06 Apr | Crewe | 4 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1992/1993 | Sat 12 Dec | Carlisle | 1 - 3 | Crewe | LGE2 |
| 1991/1992 | Fri 07 Feb | Crewe | 2 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
Recent respective form guides
Crewe have lost just once in their last six home games, winning four and drawing the other one, the sole reversal coming virtue of a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bradford City. A bumper total of ten goals have been scored by the Railwaymen in those games with just six conceded.
In complete contrast to the Alex', and indeed their own home form, Carlisle are having a disappointing time on their travels at the moment, collecting just four draws from the last six contests, although one of the two defeats came at the hands of Premiership outfit Charlton Athletic in the Carling Cup. Only a paltry two goals have been registered in this time, on the positive side though just four have been leaked at the wrong end.
Crewe see themselves slap bang in the League One mid-table, showing a record of 14 points from their 11 games played so far, that leaving them six points above the drop-zone and four short of the play-off spots.
Carlisle are just outside the automatic promotion places in fourth, but are in the home leg last section of the play-off spots, having taken an excellent 20 points from their opening 11 games.
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 |
| Crewe | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 9 |
| Carlisle | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 9 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
This promises to be an excellent test for the in-form Cumbrians, but one which the Footymad panel believe will end in a stalemate. No-score draw
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Crewe | Won four successive home games. Six matches since last home draw. Latest two games ended in defeat. |
| Carlisle | Last drawn game four outings ago. Not won in previous seven away matches. |