|
Carlisle face a trip to Bristol on Saturday afternoon, hoping to improve on a reasonable previous return from this fixture. Of the 16 games played at the home of Rovers, United have won four, drawn five and lost only seven.
Last season in League One the Blues lost 3-2 away to the Pirates at the Memorial Stadium. United going 1-0 up on 21 minutes through Ian Harte before former Torquay striker Jo Kuffour levelled matters for the home side after 35 minutes in front of 5,862 spectators.
The Cumbrians then regained the lead with 72 minutes on the clock when Richard Keogh headed home from close range before Rovers picked up all three points with two goals in the last eight minutes of the match. Jeff Hughes firstly hammering a long range effort in before deep into injury time Chris Lines bundled a shot into the United net following a goalmouth scramble.
In 2008-09 in League One though Carlisle were victorious at the Memorial Stadium by the odd goal in five on the opening day of the season. The now departed Rickie Lambert putting Rovers 1-0 up on 15 minutes before the Blues went 3-1 up thanks to a Danny Carlton brace and a single strike from Marc Bridge-Wilkinson. An Andy Williams last minute goal, in front of 8,285 spectators proving to be no more than a consolation effort for the home side.
The three other wins that Carlisle have picked up at Bristol Rovers's various grounds over the years have all come by one goal margins as well. 2-1 in the fourth tier in the 2002-03 season (scorers Craig Farrell and Richie Foran - attendance 7,527), 1-0 in the third tier in 1981-82 (scorer Bob Lee - attendance 3,759) and 1-0 in the second division in 1975-76 (scorer Michael Barry - attendance 8,225).
As far as Bristol Rovers are concerned, their biggest margin of victory at home to the Cumbrians was a 4-0 win at this level of the Football League in 1986-87. Gary Penrice with 2, Jeff Meacham and Phil Purnell being the Pirates goalscorers that late April Wednesday evening in front of of just 2,435 fans at Twerton Park in Bath.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams | |||||
| 2009/2010 | Fri 02 Apr | Carlisle | 3 - 1 | Bristol Rvs. | LGE1 |
| 2009/2010 | Sat 14 Nov | Bristol Rvs. | 3 - 2 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 2008/2009 | Sat 28 Feb | Carlisle | 1 - 1 | Bristol Rvs. | LGE1 |
| 2008/2009 | Sat 09 Aug | Bristol Rvs. | 2 - 3 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 2007/2008 | Sat 29 Dec | Bristol Rvs. | 3 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 2007/2008 | Sat 22 Sep | Carlisle | 1 - 1 | Bristol Rvs. | LGE1 |
| 2005/2006 | Sat 15 Apr | Bristol Rvs. | 1 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
Recent respective form guides
Bristol Rovers have performed averagely at home as of late, winning three, drawing one and losing two of their last six games at the Memorial Stadium. Only five goals have been netted by the Pirates in this time, with seven going in at the wrong end.
Carlisle meanwhile have the very definition of an average recent record on the road, with two wins, two draws, and two defeats in their last six matches away from Brunton Park. The Cumbrians have a narrow positive goal difference over these games, with eight goals for and six against.
Bristol Rovers's 19 points from their 13 games contested to date sees them lie inside the top half of the table, in 12th position. Carlisle though, in such a tight division sit in eighth place in League One, despite also picking up 19 from their 13 games played so far.
For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here
| Last six games form guide | P | W | D | L | F | A | P |
| Bristol Rvs. | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 10 |
| Carlisle | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 7 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
With Carlisle only showing average form on the road, Footymad are of the opinion a draw at Memorial Stadium will be a good result..... Score draw
| Sequence statistics | |
| Bristol Rvs. | Five matches since last home draw. |
| Carlisle | Five games since last away draw. An overall losing run of two matches. |