It's the long trip to South Wales for the Blues this weekend as they come up against a Newport side which has enjoyed a strong start to the season.
County have lost just one league game so far and have the second best defensive record in the division, with six goals conceded.
Their downfall has been the high number of draws, particularly from games they felt they could have won, but they still sit nicely poised in the play-off places as the table begins to take shape.
It's absolutely no surprise that Padraig Amond is leading the way with the goals, he has five to his name already, but Tristan Abrahams and Jamille Matt are also thorns in the side for opposition defences.
Rodney Parade has been a tough hunting ground for the Blues, since Newport returned to the fold as the Exiles, and we're still waiting for that first win down there despite having come close in recent years.
It'll be a tough one as both sides go into it in a confident mood.
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Manager’s thoughts ...
Speaking ahead of the weekend game, manager Steven Pressley said: "Newport are a good side who are enjoying the benefit of a certain amount of stability at this moment in time.
"They have obvious attacking threats and have a style of play their players know and understand. Their manager knows this level and he's a good man, and I have no doubt he'll be looking to turn draws into wins so that he can mount another serious challenge on promotion this year.
"We go there feeling confident. We've had some good away performances recently and we showed again last Saturday that we can 'win ugly' when we need to.
"Jack Bridge is back following his suspension and we're hopeful that Stefan Scougall could also be involved in the 18, should he train well this week.
"It's another game to look forward to and one where we're looking to reward the fans who make the long journey for their efforts."
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Did You Know?
+ The Exiles reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1980/81, having qualified after winning the Welsh Cup.
+ Newport were originally nicknamed ‘The Ironmongers’ due to the steel works present in the area during the early 20th century.
+ In 1970/71, Newport set an unwanted Football League record after going 25 games without a win at the start of the season.
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Head to Head
These teams have met a total of ten times since the Exiles came back into the Football League under their new guise but they have, of course, met many, many other times over the years.
Today's visitors have become a bit of a bogey team for the Blues recently, with just two of those ten meetings going our way.
| Carlisle wins | Draws | Newport County wins | |
| League | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Total | 2 | 2 | 6 |
The last time we played Newport was in March and it turned out to be a day for the home side as Ade Azeez and Padraig Amond netted either side of the break to send the Blues home with nothing to show for their efforts.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Our meeting with the Exiles in November last season looked comfortable as Jamie Devitt netted twice to give the Blues a two-goal cushion. Padraig Amond had something to say about that as he pulled the visitors right back into it just before the break. Dan Butler thought he'd earned his side a point with just three minutes left to play, but Danny Grainger bagged himself a goal of the month award and a victory for his team with almost the last kick of the game.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Both of the 2017/18 season games were draws, with the December trip to Rodney Parade seeing the sides having to settle for a share of the spoils off the back of a 3-3 stalemate. Luke Joyce sparked a much better second half for United when he scored from very close range immediately after the break, but it was nip and tuck and strikes from Tom Miller and Kelvin Etuhu were needed to make sure Carlisle had something to show for their efforts.
Watch the highlights from that game here ...
The 17/18 league season ended when these two came together in May right here on our own patch. Mark Ellis put us ahead with less than a quarter of an hour gone, but Padraig Amond restored parity just before the break, and that was just about that as the teams played their way to full time and a well earned summer break.
Watch the highlights from that game here ...
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Man in the middle
Our referee for this game is Mr Antony Coggins. Antony has taken charge of eight games so far this season and has shown 28 yellow cards (no reds).
He's been our main match official just once before for our 1-0 away victory against Yeovil in February 2018. Hallam Hope scored the only goal of the game, almost immediately after the second half had started, and there were no Carlisle names taken on the day.
Referee - Antony Coggins
Assistant Referee 1 - Christopher Husband
Assistant Referee 2 - Ollie Williams
Fourth Official - Ross Martin
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Ticket information
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