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The Blues pack their bags to visit Shropshire and Gay Meadow on Saturday afternoon hoping to improve upon an average previous return from this fixture. Of the 20 games played the Cumbrians have recorded five wins, and the Shrews have come away with six victories.
The last match played between the two at Gay Meadow was almost three years ago, in April 2003, with United inflicting a narrow 2-3 defeat upon the Shrews in a Division Three match. That game was the infamous Brian Wake hat-trick encounter that kept the Blues hanging on in the Football League for another season whilst condemning the Salopians to the drop into the Conference. The Shrews though, like Carlisle last year, finished third in the Conference and won the promotion play-offs to get back in the League at the first time of asking.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2002/2003 | Tue 29 Apr | Shrewsbury | 2 - 3 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 2002/2003 | Tue 04 Mar | Shrewsbury | 0 - 0 | Carlisle | ASSM |
| 2002/2003 | Tue 25 Feb | Carlisle | 1 - 0 | Shrewsbury | ASSM |
| 2002/2003 | Sat 12 Oct | Carlisle | 1 - 2 | Shrewsbury | LGE2 |
| 2001/2002 | Sat 06 Apr | Shrewsbury | 1 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 2001/2002 | Tue 20 Nov | Carlisle | 0 - 1 | Shrewsbury | LGE2 |
| 2000/2001 | Sat 13 Jan | Carlisle | 1 - 0 | Shrewsbury | LGE2 |
Recent respective form guides
Shrewsbury have lost just once in their last six home games having been on a decent run of late, winning four and drawing the other one. These high-scoring games have yielded a total of 13 goals for the Shrews with quite a meaty total of six conceded. The Shropshire side have only been beaten once at home in the League all season, and that was on the opening day of the campaign as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Rochdale, the 'Dale goal coming from Nottingham Forest bound Grant Holt.
The Cumbrians have had a decent run of form away from home recently, with three victories and just one loss from the last six games on the road in the League. That defeat was a 1-0 reverse away to Oxford way back in early October and signalled the end of a disappointing four match losing streak. The last six away games have constituted a decent return of 11 goals for the Cumbrians and only five goals against.
The Shrews find themselves struggling down in 16th position in the League, although in a tight division that only leaves them a couple of wins from a play-off spot, having picked up 32 points from their 25 matches. The Cumbrians are currently occupying a heady second place in the table, gaining 47 points from their 26 games which is more than any of us could have expected at this stage.
For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here
| Current form guides: | P | W | D | L | F | A | P |
| Shrewsbury | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 7 |
| Carlisle | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 14 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
The Cumbrians have been performing with great credit on their travels, and the Madmen see no reason why they should not return from Gay Meadow with a victory. Away win
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Shrewsbury | Unbeaten in the last 3 home games. Not drawn a match in their last 5 . |
| Carlisle | Undefeated in last 5 away games. Won each of the previous 3 matches. Last drawn game 4 outings ago. |