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Carlisle travel down to the west coast of Lancashire to take on Blackpool in a 1pm Boxing Day kick-off, the Cumbrians having come away with little in previous meetings, being beaten a depressing 13 out of 19 times, United only travelling back up the M6 with all three points on two occasions.
The last time the two teams met at Bloomfield Road was back in October 2000, over five years ago, as the Seasiders edged past the Blues with a 3-2 win in a Division Three (fourth tier) match. On a night of horrendous weather Carlisle found themselves 3-0 down after 71 minutes thanks to Blackpool goals from John Hills, John Murphy and Phil Clarkson. The Cumbrians did at least form some kind of fightback late on though in front of 4,744 spectators as goals from Scott Dobie and a wind-assisted bouncing bomb goal-kick from his hands by goalkeeper Peter Keen made it a nervy last ten minutes for the home side.
Blackpool's biggest home win over United came courtesy of a 6-0 thumping late on in the 1990-91 season, a campaign that only saw Carlisle win once away from home in the league and eventually finish 20th in the old Division Four. Goals from traditional Blues nemesis Dave Bamber (2), Phil Horner, Paul Groves, Carl Richards and Tony Rodwell, as 5,368 fans looked on, sealing the big victory for the Tangerines.
United's only two wins at Bloomfield Road came in the 1986-87 season and the 1980-81 campaign. The Blues won 2-1 in the old Division Three in 86-87 thanks to a first-half brace from Malcolm Poskett in front of 4,188 spectators, a season in which Carlisle did the double over the Seasiders only to be relegated in 22nd place come the start of May. The 80-81 match again took place in the third tier of English football, the Cumbrians winning with the only goal of the game in the first-half, scored by Peter Beardsley, as 4,531 fans looked on, United eventually finishing 19th that season.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2006/2007 | Tue 26 Sep | Carlisle | 2 - 0 | Blackpool | LGE1 |
| 2005/2006 | Tue 22 Nov | Carlisle | 2 - 1 | Blackpool | ASSM |
| 2000/2001 | Sat 14 Apr | Carlisle | 1 - 0 | Blackpool | LGE2 |
| 2000/2001 | Tue 24 Oct | Blackpool | 3 - 2 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1997/1998 | Fri 26 Dec | Carlisle | 1 - 1 | Blackpool | LGE1 |
| 1997/1998 | Sun 07 Sep | Blackpool | 2 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 1995/1996 | Sat 23 Mar | Blackpool | 3 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
Recent respective form guides
Blackpool are in very good form at home, having won four and drawn two of their last six games. These high-scoring games have yielded a mammoth total of 14 goals for the Seasiders, with just five against.
In complete contrast to the Tangerines, United are having a torrid time on their travels, accumulating just one victory, to go with five defeats, from their last six league matches played on the road. The Cumbrians have conceded a shocking 14 goals in these games, and have only managed to net three in reply.
Blackpool lie just outside the promotion play-off positions, in seventh, in League One after their good run of form of late, picking up 35 points from their 23 games so far.
United's 33 points from 23 games sees them sitting four places behind the Seasiders, and three points off Tranmere in sixth, the Blues placed 11th in the table at the halfway point of the season.
For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here
| Current league form guides: | P | W | D | L | F | A | P |
| Blackpool | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 7 | 13 |
| Carlisle | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 9 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
FootyMad see this game edging towards a narrow win for the Seasiders, as the Cumbrians have been none too clever on the road in recent matches. Home win
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Blackpool | Not lost in last five matches. Unbeaten in the last ten home games. |
| Carlisle | Last drawn game eight outings ago. Lost each of the previous two away matches. |