The Blues take on another of the promotion contenders on Saturday as Paul Tisdale brings his impressive MK Dons outfit to Brunton Park.
Having said that, it's been a sticky spell for the Dons since the turn of the year with just three wins from their eight games so far in 2019.
Tuesday night's difficult trip to Newport proved to be a lesson in biding your time as substitute Chuks Aneke came off the bench with the visitors looking to take all three points. The ploy worked with Aneke doing the honours with just two minutes of normal time left to play.
Scoring goals has not been a problem this season with Kieran Agard (14), Chuks Aneke (13) and Rhys Healey (8) smashing a grand total of 35 goals between them, playing a big part in what they hope will be a serious push for a return to League One this year.
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Manager’s thoughts ...
Speaking ahead of the weekend game, manager Steven Pressley said: "This is another game between two sides who like to do things properly. Paul showed at Exeter that he's a manager who sticks to his principles even when, as happens to all of us, his team goes through a sticky patch.
"They will be lifted by Tuesday night's result but we know what we are going to come up against. As ever, if we do the basics and stick to our disciplines within the shape we adopt, we know we are more than a match for anybody.
"Things are extremely tight in the top eight or nine places in the division and it now comes down to making sure you concentrate on each game as it comes your way.
"I've said it before, if you start to get ahead of yourselves in any way you can come unstuck, and I will certainly be working very hard to make sure that doesn't happen."
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Did You Know?
+ MK Dons came out of the ashes of Wimbledon FC in 2004 and initially played their games at the National Hockey Stadium.
+ Stuart Murdoch was their first ever manager, but he was dismissed after just a few months in charge to be replaced by Danny Wilson.
+ MK Dons moved into their current home at stadium:mk in 2007.
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Head to Head
These sides have met on a total of 13 occasions with Carlisle edging the honours with seven victories over five to MK Dons.
| Carlisle wins | Draws | MK Dons wins | |
| League | 7 | 1 | 5 |
| Total | 7 | 1 | 5 |
Our first meeting with MK Dons this season went the way of the home side despite what had been a tight first half. Goals from Jordan Houghton and Kieran Agard shortly after the break put the Blues on the back foot and, despite going close on two occasions, they nevere really recovered.
Watch the highlights from that game here ...
Prior to that meeting in December, the last time we were at the home of MK Dons was way back in October 2013. United had to defend for long periods of the game but they ultimately deserved the victory, which came from the boot of Lews Guy. David Amoo had attempted a scissor kick volley at the back stick, but that only flew across the face of goal as he got his bearings wrong. Guy was there to crunch a beauty into the top corner and win the game for the Blues.
Watch the highlights from that game here ...
The home game at Brunton Park in January that season was a much more comfortable and emphatic victory for United. Lee Miller diverted a Tom Lawrence free kick into the bottom corner to open the scoring, and Brad Potts finished off a flowing move at close range to double the lead. A near post David Amoo header, from a whipped corner, gave United their three goal lead and an easy win.
Watch the goals from that game here ...
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Man in the middle
Our referee for this game is Mr Peter Wright. He made the step up from the national league this season and we have met him just once before, for our 1-0 away victory over Cheltenham back in August.
Richie Bennett bagged the only goal of the game just before the break, and Anthony Gerrard and Kelvin Etuhu had their names taken on the day.
Referee – Peter Wright
Assistant Referee 1 – Paul Newhouse
Assistant Referee 2 – Simon Clayton
Fourth Official – David Avent
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Ticket information
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