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The Blues welcome the Spireites to Cumbria tomorrow, and hold the advantage on previous meetings between the two sides. Of the 32 games played, United have bagged 14 wins, and Chesterfield have come away with nine victories.
The last time the two teams met at Brunton Park was back in September 2000 as the visitors ran out cosy 4-2 winners in a Division Three match. Chesterfield racing in to a 3-0 lead after just 38 minutes with goals from Marcus Ebdon, Roger Willis and Ryan Williams, with Ian Stevens pulling a first-half goal back for the Cumbrians bang on the whistle. The Spireites restored their three-goal cushion in the 82nd minute when Willis bagged his second goal of the game, although Carl Heggs netted for Carlisle two minutes later to leave the final result a sorry-looking 4-2 as just 2,929 fans looked on inside Brunton Park in the darker days of the Michael Knighton era.
United's biggest victory at home to Chesterfield came way back in the 1929-30 season in the Third Division North. The Blues winning 6-0 thanks to a hat-trick from perennial goal-getter Jimmy McConnell, a brace from David Hutchinson and a William Pigg penalty in front of a Brunton Park attendance of 7,250.
The Spireites had best their win in Cumbria in the old Third Division in the 1980-81 season, as they thumped the Blues 6-2 on United's own turf. The visitors were already 3-2 up at half-time before adding three further goals without reply in the second period. Michael Coady and Gordon Staniforth with a penalty hitting the back of the net for Carlisle before the interval as 4,256 spectators looked on.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2006/2007 | Wed 9 Aug | Chesterfield | 0 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 2000/2001 | Tue 20 Feb | Chesterfield | 1 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 2000/2001 | Tue 12 Sep | Carlisle | 2 - 4 | Chesterfield | LGE2 |
| 1997/1998 | Sat 21 Mar | Chesterfield | 2 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 1997/1998 | Tue 18 Nov | Carlisle | 0 - 2 | Chesterfield | LGE1 |
| 1995/1996 | Sat 13 Jan | Carlisle | 1 - 1 | Chesterfield | LGE1 |
| 1995/1996 | Sat 19 Aug | Chesterfield | 3 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
Recent respective form guides
Carlisle have had an average home run of late after showing such sparkling form at Brunton Park earlier in the season, winning and losing three each of the last six games played. While the Cumbrians have only scored five goals, a worringly large eight have been leaked at the other end, although four of those came last time out at home in the 4-1 defeat against Yeovil.
The away form of Chesterfield is pretty dire, accumulating just one victory and one draw from their last six matches played away from Saltergate. While the Spireites have hit just four goals, seven have hit the back of the wrong net.
Carlisle's 47 points from their 33 games played sees them lie inside the top half of the table, in tenth position, the Blues currently five points away from the play-off spots, although some of their close rivals do have games in hand.
Chesterfield find themselves struggling down in 17th position in League One having picked up 38 points from their 32 matches, the Spireites sitting just three points above the relegation trapdoor.
For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here
| Current home/away form guides: | P | W | D | L | F | A | P |
| Carlisle | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Chesterfield | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 7 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
It's a close one to call, but I think that the Cumbrians reasonable showing at home is going to see them scrape past Chesterfield. Home Win
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Carlisle | Eight games since last home draw. Not won in the two most recent matches. |
| Chesterfield | Last drawn game four outings ago. Not won in previous two away matches. |