Cambridge United v Carlisle United, Saturday 28 October, kick off 3pm
The Abbeymen went into Tuesday night's home game with Portsmouth on the back of a horrible run of form, having not won in nine outings in all competitions.
Pompey knocked on the door, but the home team stood strong to gain a point from a 0-0 draw.
Their last victory was at home against Reading at the beginning of September, and they now have just two points this month, with the other coming from their 1-1 home draw with Shrewsbury.
The season had started well, with three wins from five that had them perched nciely in the upper reaches of the division.
Things are looking up off the pitch with the club having reached an agreement with their Supporters' Club which will pave the way for a redevelopment of the Abbey Stadium.
The U's are to spend £1.5m on a new Supporters' Club building and, in return, they will be gifted an area of land which will allow much-needed work to proceed.
Should the agreement be ratified, detailed plans are set to be announced at the beginning of 2024.
Forward Fejiri Okenabirhie is finding the net with some amount of regularity this season.
He has seven goals from 16 appearances so far, with an assist thrown in for good measure.
His shot conversion ratio is 47%, showing a tendency to hit the target whenever he lets one go.
He didn't start on Tuesday night, and was an unused sub, but we're sticking our necks out to suggest that he will still be this weekend's man to follow from the opposition.
Click HERE to purchase a match pass which will allow you to listen to this fixture via our match streaming service.
With match commentary provided by BBC Radio Cumbria, this is a fantastic way to follow your team through the season.
Match audio passes are available for ALL EFL league games - click HERE to find out more about this season’s iFollow United service.
| Carlisle wins | Draws | Cambridge wins | |
| League | 10 | 14 | 10 |
| Total | 10 | 14 | 10 |
Cambridge took the points home from Brunton Park in March 2021 with Wrexham-bound Paul Mullin the first to score on the day - on the stroke of half-time. Lewis Alessandra levelled things up with 15 minutes left to play, but the Abbeyman claimed the win with a very late strike from Adam May.
You can watch the highlights of that game here:
A first away trip of the 2020/21 season took Carlisle to Cambridge and the hosts swept into a two-goal lead with just 16 minutes played. A late Ironside strike wrapped up the victory.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
United were at the Abbey in February 2020 and goals from Lewis Alessandra and Nick Anderton scored either side of the break seemed to put them in a good place. But a late strike from Reggie Lambe kept the fingernails at risk as the hosts tried to claim a point.
It was a deserved victory for the Blues in the end, as they made it just one defeat in nine outings in what was an impressive run of performances.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Prior to that Fmeeting [highlights above] the last coming together of these two sides was in November 2019 when the teams battled out a 0-0 draw here at Brunton Park.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Prior to that we met in March 2019 when United had to recover from conceding a very early goal. Jamie Devitt and Nathan Thomas put the Blues ahead before the break, but Jabo Ibehre came back to haunt us when he netted the equaliser in the second half.
We were at the Abbey in September 2018 for our first meeting with the U's that season, and the teams had some baking hot weather to contend with on what was a lovely late summer's afternoon. A good opening spell from the home side brought a goal for Jevani Brown, but United were back on terms just before the break when Richie Bennett looped a header into the back of the net. The Cumbrians had the better of the second half and they took the points when Ashley Nadesan bagged from close range.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The 2017/18 season saw United edge in front courtesy of a neat finish from Reggie Lambe, when the sides met at the Abbey in August 17, but Medy Elito levelled from the spot just six minutes later. Carlisle kept going and Tom Parkes scored his first goal for the club, accompanied by a celebratory dab, to earn the visitors all three points.
Watch the highlights of that game here:
Cambridge came to Brunton Park in March 2018 to put things right but the deadlock in a tight game was broken by Richie Bennett when he scored from close range following a cut back from Mark Ellis just after the break. However, the celebrations had barely subsided when George Maris scored the point making equaliser just over 120 seconds later.
Watch the highlights of that game here:
Referee - Sam Purkiss
Assistant Referee 1 - Scott Williams
Assistant Referee 2 - Ryan Whitaker
Fourth Official - Leigh Crowhurst
Observer - Michael Brader
Coach - Michael George
The referee for this fixture is Mr Sam Purkiss. Sam has taken charge of 11 games so far this season showing 59 yellow cards and six reds.
Our Ref Watch article to accompany this fixture is HERE.
We have been allocated an initial 626 unreserved seated tickets for this game.
Prices
| Adult | £25 |
| Senior 64+ | £19 |
| Full time student | £19 |
| Armed Forces | £19 |
| 18-21 | £19 |
| Under 18 | £12 |
| Under 12 | £8 |
| Under 5 | FOC |
Alll ticket prices increase by £2 on the day of the game.
Wheelchair users and ambulant disabled supporters pay the relevant concession price, with a carer free of charge.
Dates of sale
| Date | Time |
| Thu 26 Oct | 10am – 4pm |
Methods of purchase:
- In person – come to the Pioneer ticket office at the designated time. Sales on home match days will be from the west side ticket office (from 5.30pm on a midweek home match day).
- Phone – ring the ticket office 03300 945 930 option 1 at the designated times and pay with a credit / debit card.
- Internet – buy online HERE.
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If you wish to purchase bus travel you can organise this by calling CUSAT on 07563 700 987.
Click HERE for departure times and prices. Please note - the coach is due to leave at 7am, not 6am as planned. Please check timings when you book.