United got back to winning ways at Brunton Park on Saturday afternoon with a hard-earned victory over Swindon, and they'll be looking to build on that on Tuesday night.
The visiting Magpies are currently seven points adrift of safety at the foot of the League Two table despite having enjoyed a better run of results last month.
Back-to-back victories in the middle of February suggested that new boss Neal Ardley had found the combination needed to mount a surge away from the bottom places, with new faces added to the ranks at the end of the January window appearing to have settled in, but it's now four games since they recorded their last victory.
Saturday's heavy defeat at Cheltenham added to the woes, but County still believe they have enough in the tank to get the job done.
A squad full of quality sees the ever-reliable Jon Stead lead the scoring charts, with 10 for the campaign so far, and they'll be coming to Brunton Park looking for a vital three points, whoever is picked to take to the field.
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Manager’s thoughts ...
Speaking ahead of the midweek game, manager Steven Pressley said: "This isn't a game we will take lightly at all.
"There are pressures on both sides for different reasons, and at this stage of the season it often comes down to which team deals with the psychological side of things that goes on to win the points.
"Despite the league position, Neal [Ardley] has a strong squad of players there and they're in a situation now where they are fighting for their lives. They have ground to make up and the run to achieve that has to start somewhere.
"What we have to do is concentrate on ourselves and make sure we play our game in our way. If we do things properly we'll cause them problems, and that's what I want to see.
"We got the win against Swindon, and that was massive for us, but it will become a very good result for us if we can add it to it in our next home game."
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Did You Know?
+ Italian club Juventus took their black and white striped shirts from those of Notts County, with the Magpies playing a friendly match at the opening of the Old Lady’s new stadium in 2011.
+ Notts have played more Football League games than any other club, having racked up also 5,000 games during their 155-year history.
+ The club’s now famous Wheelbarrow Song originated in the 1988-89 season, after a trip to Wembley to face Tranmere Rovers.
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Head to Head
The sides have met on a total of 35 occasions over the years with United winning 12 of those contests. The Magpies have the upper hand having notched up 18 victories.
| Carlisle wins | Draws | Notts Co wins | |
| League | 12 | 4 | 17 |
| FA Cup | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 12 | 5 | 18 |
Our November trip to Meadow Lane saw the sides battle out a 1-1 draw, with the Magpies taking the lead following a good spell of pressure in the second half. Youngster Liam McCarron came on as a late substitute and his cross was met by a stunning header from Jerry Yates to level the scores.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The game last October here at Brunton Park ended as 1-1 stalemate, despite Carlisle having taken the lead after a good spell of pressure through a close range finish from Hallam Hope. A good visiting move early in the second half was finished off by Ryan Yates and that earned his side a share of the spoils.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The Valentine's Day visit to Meadow Lane that season brought little in the way of love for the Blues as Notts County ran out winners courtesy of a cool finish from Jon Stead and a scrambled toe poke from the same player. A slight deflection on a Jamie Devitt volley gave the visitors their consolation.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
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Man in the middle
Our referee for this game is Mr Eddie Ilderton. So far this season he has taken charge of nine fixtures showing 22 yellow cards and two reds.
We last saw him in December for our 4-0 home victory over Colchester. Hallam Hope, Jerry Yates, Jamie Devitt and Danny Grainger scored the goals, and Jack Sowerby and Tom Parkes were Carlisle names taken on the day.
His previous visit to Brunton Park was for our 1-0 win over Forest Green last January. Jamie Devitt scored the only goal of the game and Jack Bonham and Luke Joyce had their names taken on the day.
A bit of club history was made by the referee during that encounter when he booked keeper Morgan Bacon for time wasting on the bench - the ball had rolled under his feet and he delayed a throw in as he kicked it under the seats. Bacon didn't play and, in fact, became the only United player ever to be cautioned never having made an appearance in the senior ranks.
Mr Ilderton was also with us for our 1-0 defeat at the hands of Exeter just over a year ago. Clint Hill and Danny Grainger were shown yellow cards as the Blues pressed for an equaliser, but it just wasn't to be as the Grecians held out.
And we had also seen him earlier in that season when we lost 4-1 at Sincil Bank. Reggie Lambe bagged our consolation and Tom Parkes was given his marching orders with just under an hour left to play.
Referee – Eddie Ilderton
Assistant Referee 1 – Natalie Aspinall
Assistant Referee 2 – Wade Smith
Fourth Official – Geoffrey Liddle
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Ticket information
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