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The Blues welcome the Gills to Cumbria this weekend, and hold a slight advantage on previous meetings. Of the 20 games played, United have recorded ten wins, and Gillingham have come away with a healthy eight victories.
The last time the two teams met at Brunton Park was back in September 1997 when the Cumbrians carved out a narrow 2-1 victory in a Division Two (third tier) match. All the goals came after half-time with Owen Archdeacon and Stephane Pounewatchy scoring for the Blues, as 5,063 spectators looked on, with Guy Butters grabbing a late consolation for the Gills as he converted an injury-time penalty.
United's best margin of victory at home to the Kent outfit came in the 1989-90 Division Four campaign when they won 3-0 thanks to goals from Paul Proudlock, Paul Fitzpatrick and David Miller in front of a Brunton Park crowd of just 3,185. That season, due to an awful run of form after Christmas, seeing Carlisle slide out of the automatic promotion spots, and eventually the play-off places on the last day of the season after a 5-2 hammering away to another Kent side, in Maidstone.
Despite the lengthy journey up to Cumbria, Gillingham have had some big wins at United over the years, the best of those coming the season after Carlisle's best win at home in 1990-91. The Gills going home with a thumping 4-0 victory thanks to a brace from Steve Lovell and further goals from Peter Beadle and David Crown, with only 2,633 fans fans inside Brunton Park that March Tuesday night to witness the hammering.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2006/2007 | Sat 28 Oct | Gillingham | 2 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 1997/1998 | Sat 21 Feb | Gillingham | 1 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 1997/1998 | Sat 27 Sep | Carlisle | 2 - 1 | Gillingham | LGE1 |
| 1994/1995 | Sat 08 Apr | Carlisle | 2 - 0 | Gillingham | LGE2 |
| 1994/1995 | Sat 31 Dec | Gillingham | 0 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1993/1994 | Sat 26 Mar | Gillingham | 2 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1993/1994 | Sat 02 Oct | Carlisle | 1 - 2 | Gillingham | LGE2 |
Recent respective form guides
United have only collected one win and three draws from the last six home games played. While the Cumbrians have scored just four times, a worringly large eight have been leaked at the other end, although four of those goals conceded did come in a 4-1 hammering at Brunton Park against Yeovil.
The away form of Gillingham is pretty dire, managing a paltry two draws from the last six matches on the road. While the Gills have hit only four goals, eleven have hit the back of the wrong net, the Kent side having shipped a massive 44 goals, the highest in the division by far, on their travels in 19 league games this season.
United's 53 points from 38 games sees them lie inside the top half of the table, in tenth position, Carlisle's recent poor run of results seeing them slip six points away from a potential play-off place.
Gillingham find themselves struggling down in 18th position in the league having picked up 46 points from their 38 matches, 35 of those points having been gained at the Priestfield Stadium as the Gills sit just six points above the relegation spots.
For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here
| Current form guides: | P | W | D | L | F | A | P |
| Carlisle | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| Gillingham | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 5 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
Attention punters! Footymad see this as an opportunity for the Cumbrians to get the show back on the road by taking all the three points available. Home Win
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Carlisle | Drawn last three games at home. Failed to win in previous four home matches. |
| Gillingham | Lost both previous two away games. Not won in previous seven away matches. |