Orient were meant to be the first opponents of the New Year to come to Brunton Park - but January became a case of 'least said, soonest mended' with a raft of postponements meaning that the best laid schemes did indeed gang aft a-gley.
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It's now some 15 months since these teams last met, with Orient's trip to Cumbria last season booted into the long grass due to national lockdown number one and the subsequent curtailing of the campaign.
As already alluded to, January's scheduled meeting fell foul of the weather, and we aren't due to come together in London until the end of the season - our final away trip of this particular battle to get games played.
The transfer window was steady for the O's, with West Ham midfielder Dan Kemp heading into the Matchroom on a half-season loan deal to spark things up.
Wycombe midfielder Nick Freeman did the same as Jordan Maguire-Drew went the other way to join Crawley. Centre back and free agent Adam Thompson moved to London having left Rotherham by mutual consent, and the dangerous Tristan Abrahams signed a loan deal from Newport which keeps him in the Orient until the summer.
THIS GAME NOW KICKS OFF AT 6.30pm!
The O's have been caught up in mid-table for long spells of this season but their January business suggested they meant to push on through the second half of the campaign.
Inconsistent results have seen them win 13 and lose 14 of their 35 league games so far, and 39 goals both scored and conceded leaves them with a flatline goal difference of zero.
Things didn't quite go the way as planned in February and manager Ross Embleton was relieved of his duties at the end of the month following a winless streak of seven games.
Experienced winger Jobi McAnuff has taken the hotseat on an interim basis.
The response to that appointment has been that they've lost just one of their five games this month, a heavy away defeat at Exeter, and their victory over Newport on Saturday brings them into our meeting off the back on an unbeaten three-game run.
THIS GAME NOW KICKS OFF AT 6.30pm!
Danny Johnson has 16 goals and some impressive performances to his name, and he can be found either leading the line or working across the forward areas of the pitch.
He's become the focal point for the good work the O's do, both home and away, and he'll be guaranteed to be a handful.
He has to be our one to watch.
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THIS GAME NOW KICKS OFF AT 6.30pm!
The sides have met a total of 56 times over the years, with a very even spread of results to show for it.
| Carlisle wins | Draws | Leyton Orient wins | |
| League | 21 | 14 | 20 |
| FA Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 22 | 14 | 20 |
October 2019 took the Blues to East London where a clean strike from Jack Iredale just after the break cancelled out an early Josh Wright penalty.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
These teams came together in February 2017, also at the home of the O's. Gavin Massey gave the hosts the lead but strikes from Gary Liddle and Jamie Proctor earned the visitors a creditable 2-1 victory. The afternoon took a bad turn for Proctor, though, when he was sent off just eight minutes after bagging the winner.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The sides met earlier that season at Brunton Park where they played out a 2-2 draw. The Blues had to come from behind twice as Paul McCallum and Harry Cornick netted for the Orient. Charlie Wyke got United's first, with Danny Grainger caliming the point from the penalty spot late in the game.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Referee - James Bell
Assistant Referee 1 - Paul Graham
Assistant Referee 2 - Ivan Stankovic
Fourth Official - Matthew Dicicco
Our referee for this game is Mr James Bell.
He's taken charge of 19 games so far this season and has shown six red cards and 59 yellows.
This is the second time James has taken charge of a Carlisle United fixture. He was our official for the away game at Port Vale in October 2020. Jon Mellish scored the winner and Lewis Alessandra was the only name taken on the day.
In the National League last season, he was the man in the middle for the August play-off final between Harrogate Town and Notts County prior to his pormotion to the league list.
THIS GAME NOW KICKS OFF AT 6.30pm!
This game is to be played behind closed doors. See above for details of how to watch live using our iFollow match streaming service.
THIS GAME NOW KICKS OFF AT 6.30pm!