Troubled Macclesfield, who avoided a winding up petition just over a week ago, are the next visitors to Brunton Park with the Silkmen looking to get back in action following last weekend's weather enforced postponement when their home game against Bradford was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.
Just one defeat from their four October fixtures [two wins and a draw make up the other three] saw them climb to a mid-table position in League Two through what was another busy month.
Goals have been hard to come by, with 16 to their tally, but they've kept things tight at the other end with just 18 conceded.
Midfielder Arthur Gnahoua, who was with the Blues last season, has two to his name for the Silkmen and he has Emmanuel Osadebe [4] and Theo Archibald [3] ahead of him in the scoring charts.
A team that can play football and mix it up when needed, they certainly won't make it easy for the Cumbrians on Saturday.
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Manager’s thoughts ...
Speaking ahead of the game, gaffer Steven Pressley said: "This is another good game for us to look forward to and one we go into feeling confident.
"As I said last week, our focus at the moment is on improving in every area, both as individuals and as a team. We will continue to work tirelessly with the players to achieve this and, in my opinion, we are certainly seeing progress in a number of key areas.
"The first half performance against Northampton, and the second half against Orient, were both met with appreciation from you, the supporters, and it is our duty to play in a way that entices you to get fully behind the team.
"The challenge for us is to find more consistency, particularly here at home. We know Macclesfield will come here looking to make it difficult for us and they will want to build on the good results they had in October. We know where they are effective and we'll be looking to counter that and impose our game at every opportunity."
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Not today or any day
Carlisle United Football Club is a community club which aims to make attending football matches as inclusive and enjoyable as possible for all members of our society.
We have a desire and duty to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation based on age; disability; gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; marriage and civil partnership; race; religion and belief; gender and sexual orientation.
Therefore we will take the strongest possible action against anyone behaving in a discriminatory, aggressive or abusive manner. This will include the issuing of Brunton Park banning orders and, if necessary, liaison with the relevant authorities to ensure that the law is being upheld.
That could result in criminal prosecution under the Football (Offences) Act 1991 or Criminal Justice Act 2003, which specifically cover discriminatory behaviour.
We do not want Carlisle United to be tarnished by any individual or group behaving in this way. We want passion, we want rivalry, we want your support ... and we want everybody to feel that they are welcomed and that they can be part of it.
If you witness behaviour of this kind:
+ Report it to a steward or police officer. Reporting incidents early helps the club to take immediate action.
+ Confidentially report it via the Kick It Out App, available on iPhone and Android.
+ Report it to Kick it Out on social media (@KickItOut), phone (0800 169 9414) or email info@kickitout.org
+ Report it via the Kick It Out website form at https://www.kickitout.org/forms/online-reporting-form
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Did You Know?
+ The beginnings of the club can be traced in part to the 8th Cheshire Rifle Volunteers, who played their first match in 1873. The Olympic Cricket Club also played football in Macclesfield, and in October 1876 the two organisations amalgamated to form Macclesfield Football Club.
+ Macclesfield were founder members of the Cheshire County League in 1919.
+ The 1994-95 season saw the Silkmen win the Vauxhall Conference, under Sammy McIlroy, heading the table from 5 November 1994 until the end of the season. They were denied promotion to the Football League due to ground criteria.
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Head to Head
These sides have met on a total of 18 occasions with a fairly even split between wins and defeats. United have come out on top on seven occasions, with Macclesfield triumphant on eight.
| Carlisle wins | Draws | Macclesfield wins | |
| Cup | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| League | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| FA Cup | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 7 | 3 | 8 |
Our last meeting was on 29 December last year when goals from Hallam Hope and Jerry Yates were enough to rectify what had been a terrible start to the game when Scott Wilson put the visitors ahead with just two minutes on the clock.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The sides had met at Moss Rose three months earlier when the Cumbrians became Macc's first scalp of the season. Ashley Nadesan gave the visitors the lead five minutes into the second half but the game was turned on its head when Michael Rose drew things level from the spot, with just 11 minutes left to play. Peter Vincenti sealed the deal for the home side four minutes later.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Prior to that, we have to go back to October 2009 when the Silkmen headed north for a JPT evening fixture. A tight first half sprung to life in time added on when Shaun Brisley put the visitors ahead.
The Blues turned things round with goals from Matt Robson, Scott Dobie (2) and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, and they saw it through to successful progression despite a late reply from John Rooney.
Watch the goals from that game here:
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Man in the middle:
Our referee for this game is Mr Andy Haines. Andy has been the man in the middle for 12 games so far this season showing 34 yellow cards and three reds.
He was last at Brunton Park in March last season for our 2-2 draw with Cambridge. The U's went ahead with just three minutes on the clock, but goals from Jamie Devitt and Nathan Thomas gave the Blues the lead before the break. Former-United favourite Jabo Ibehre bagged midway through the second period to make it a share of the spoils on the day. Danny Grainger and Mike Jones received bookings during the game.
He was also with us just three months earlier for our Boxing Day meeting with Oldham. United ran riot with goals from Hope, Yates [2], Nadesan, Grainger and Liddle securing a thumping 6-0 victory. Kelvin Etuhu was the only Carlisle name taken on the night.
Earlier last season he was up here for our Checkatrade Trophy group fixture against Morecambe. A tight game saw the Shrimps twice take the lead through goals from Oliver and Piggott. Glendon and Gillesphey pegged them back for the Blues, and that set it up for Jerry Yates to grab a late winner. There were no United names taken on the night.
We saw Mr Haines twice in season 2017/18, both at Brunton Park, starting with our opening day fixture against Swindon Town. Luke Joyce scored our only goal in a 2-1 defeat, and Mike Jones was the only Carlisle name taken.
Our second meeting had a much more pleasant outcome as we beat Oldham Athletic 3-2 in the FA Cup. Richie Bennett (2) and Hallam Hope gave us a three goal cushion but there was still time to bite the fingernails as Peter Clarke and Aaron Holloway bit back to make it a nervy ending to the game. There were no Carlisle bookings that afternoon.
Referee - Andy Haines
Assistant Referee 1 - David Avent
Assistant Referee 2 - Paul Newhouse
Fourth Official - Barry Gordon
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Ticket information
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