Carlisle had the better of things in their encounters with Cheltenham last season, winning both games, but it was a difficult campaign overall for the Robins as they registered just 13 league victories as they stuttered to a 17th place finish.
Kicking things off
It’s been another tough start to their league schedule this time round with two narrow one-goal defeats leaving them stuck at the wrong end of the division, all be it at a very early stage.
Crawley did the damage on the opening day when Ollie Palmer struck just after half time.
A golden opportunity to grab at least a point went begging when Irish midfielder Kevin Dawson smashed a late penalty kick onto the bar.
Last weekend’s trip to Prenton Park brought the same end result, but this time Cheltenham fell to an early unstoppable volley from James Norwood.
Things improved on Tuesday night, as the Robins progressed to round two of the Carabao Cup following a 6-5 penalty shoot-out victory over Colchester, but they gave themselves a scare as they allowed the U's to claw back a two-goal deficit very late in the game, to force the spot kick drama.
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Manager’s thoughts
Speaking ahead of the game, United boss John Sheridan said: "I've been really pleased with our attacking play and, as I keep reminding the players, if they keep the same desire and tempo they are going to win more games than they lose.
"It will be a different test for us on Saturday because Cheltenham are another side who will be looking to get tjeir league campaign up and running.
"It's a tight pitch and our players will have to be ready for what I think will be a competitive game.
"Gary [Johnson] will have his side well drilled, but we'll go there knowing that if we keep doing the right things we'll have more than enough to come away with a result."
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Comments from the Cheltenham boss
"We need to be careful because you can be disappointed by losing 5-1, or invigorated.
"We have to make sure we are ready for the best of Carlisle, as opposed to the worst.
"They still have some decent players and we have to be focused and do our job.
"We need to make sure we play our game against them and not wait for their game to come out because they are angry after being beaten by Blackburn.
"We have to be careful there because they are a decent side and it should be another good football match."
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Did You Know?
+ It was originally thought that the Robins were founded in 1892, but recent research suggests it was actually five years earlier.
+ Former Aston Villa and Wolves striker Andy Gray ended his career at Cheltenham in 1990, netting seven goals in 20 appearances at Whaddon Road.
+ In 2015 it emerged that supporter Bryan Jacob left Cheltenham’s Supporters’ Club £222,000 in his will - the Supporters’ Player of the Season Award is now named after him.
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Head to Head
The sides have met a total of 24 times over the years, and you can’t slide a piece of paper between them with eight wins, eight draws and eight defeats each along the way.
|
Carlisle wins |
Draws |
Cheltenham wins |
|
|
League |
8 |
8 |
6 |
|
FA Cup |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Total |
8 |
8 |
8 |
The last time we met at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium was five months ago, in March, and the Robins came out of the blocks firing in what was an entertaining game.
The hosts were made to pay for a string of missed chances when Hallam Hope tumbled to the floor inside the box late in the game.
Jamie Devitt kept a cool head before stepping up to smash the spot kick into the waiting net right in front of the travelling fans.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The Blues had made easier work of it earlier in the season when an own goal from Harry Pell – a swipe into the top corner as he tried to clear a loose ball with just five minutes on the clock – was added to by Reggie Lambe and Tom Miller as United ran out as 3-0 winners.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
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Man in the middle:
The referee for this game is Mr Peter Wright. This is his first time as the match referee for a game involving the Blues having made the step up from the National League last season.
He has taken charge of one league game so far this season, when Stevenage beat Crawley by 3-1 last week, with no cards shown on the day.
Referee - Peter Wright
Assistant Referee 1 - Andrew Hendley
Assistant Referee 2 - Steven Rushton
Fourth Official - Kevin Morris
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Ticket information:
At time of going to press, United have sold 108 away tickets for this fixture.
Click HERE for full match ticket information.
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