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The Blues play host to the Blues at Brunton Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with the Blues looking to continue an impressive record. Carlisle are clearly on top, having won 23 and lost only six of the 38 games played.
The last time the two teams met in Cumbria was back on the 3rd of January 2000, just over six years ago, coincidentally the same season City were relegated to the Conference from Division Three by virtue of having a goal difference only two goals worse than United's. On that day Carlisle eased past their opponents in a high-scoring 4-1 win, Scott Dobie's second minute goal giving the Cumbrians a 1-0 half-time lead in front of a crowd of 4565. Second half goals from Dobie on 51, Australian Paul Harries on 71 and Richard Prokas in the last minute meant that the Cumbrians ran out comfortable victors on the day. You could say that the goal from Penrith-born Prokas was extremely important as without it we would have been relegated and City would have survived.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2005/2006 | Tue 27 Sep | Chester | 2 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1999/2000 | Sat 08 Apr | Chester | 0 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1999/2000 | Mon 03 Jan | Carlisle | 4 - 1 | Chester | LGE2 |
| 1998/1999 | Sat 27 Feb | Chester | 2 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1998/1999 | Sat 19 Sep | Carlisle | 1 - 1 | Chester | LGE2 |
| 1997/1998 | Tue 26 Aug | Carlisle | 3 - 0 | Chester | LGEC |
| 1997/1998 | Tue 12 Aug | Chester | 1 - 2 | Carlisle | LGEC |
Recent respective form guides
United are in decent form at home, having won four and drawn two of their last six games, These high-scoring games have yielded a total of 11 goals for the Cumbrians, with just four goals against.
In complete contrast to the Cumbrians, City are having a torrid time on their travels, accumulating just one victory and one draw from their last six matches played. While Chester have hit six goals, ten have hit the back of the wrong net.
Carlisle are currently occupying a precarious second spot in their division, gaining 51 points from their 30 games. The Blues have struggled of late, picking up only four points from the last twelve, and need to get their season back on track if automatic promotion is going to be gained.
Chester find themselves struggling down in 16th position in the league having picked up 36 points from their 29 matches. Losing eight of their last nine in the league, after a healthy start to the season, has seen them drop alarmingly down the table, the only success in their current spell of bad form being a 2-1 win at struggling Mansfield Town.
For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here
| Current form guides: | P | W | D | L | F | A | P |
| Carlisle | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 10 |
| Chester | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
Its good news for Carlisle fans, because, with them being in such great nick at home, I just cannot see any further than an emphatic home win for the Cumbrians. Home win
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Carlisle | Unbeaten in the last six home games. |
| Chester | Last drawn game six outings ago. |