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Carlisle face a trip to South Yorkshire tomorrow hoping to improve on an average previous return from this fixture. Of the 28 games played in Doncaster the Cumbrians have won eight while Rovers have been victorious 13 times.
The most recent encounter between the two sides was less than a year ago, in February 2007, with Carlisle winning 2-1 at the Keepmoat Stadium in a League One match. James Coppinger put Doncaster ahead after just three minutes in front of 9,036 spectators, but second-half wonder strikes from Jeff Smith on 56 and Karl Hawley after 78 minutes meant that the Blues went home with all three points.
Carlisle have twice won by a three goal margin in Doncaster, the first victory being a 4-1 win way back in their Division Three North season of 1929-30, two goals unsurprisingly coming from Jimmy McConnell, with David Hutchinson and John Holland also scoring as 3,966 fans looked on.
The second win came over sixty seasons later in 1991-92, a dreadful campaign for both clubs which saw United finish bottom of Division Four as Rovers themselves leapfrogged them on the last day of the season. It had all started so well for the Blues too as the 3-0 victory come on the opening matchday through goals from Richard Sendall, Tony Fyfe and Paul Proudlock in front of a paltry Belle Vue attendance of only 2,639.
Doncaster's biggest home win over the Blues is one of Carlisle's worst results in their history, as Rovers thumped United 9-2 in the first post-World War Two season of 1946-47. Doncaster did finish as Division Three North champions in that campaign though, amassing a mammoth 123 goals from just 42 games along the way.
Nine of those came in that match against the Cumbrians in January 1947 when the Blues found themselves 5-0 down at half-time as a bumper crowd of 14,051 spectators looked on, James Moir and Ivor Broadis managing to grab what could loosely be called consolation goals for United after the break.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2006/2007 | Sat 03 Feb | Doncaster | 1 - 2 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 2006/2007 | Sat 05 Aug | Carlisle | 1 - 0 | Doncaster | LGE1 |
| 2003/2004 | Sat 08 May | Doncaster | 1 - 0 | Carlisle Utd. | LGE2 |
| 2003/2004 | Sat 29 Nov | Carlisle | 0 - 1 | Doncaster | LGE2 |
| 1996/1997 | Sat 29 Mar | Carlisle | 0 - 0 | Doncaster | LGE2 |
| 1996/1997 | Sat 17 Aug | Doncaster | 0 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1995/1996 | Tue 07 Nov | Carlisle | 1 - 1 | Doncaster | ASSM |
Recent respective form guides
Doncaster are not in the best of form at home lately, with two wins, two draws, and two defeats in their last six matches at the Keepmoat Stadium, although those two victories have been in their last two home games. The goals for column just outweighs the goals against over this period at seven to five.
The away form of Carlisle is pretty dire at the moment, attaining just three draws from the previous six away games and not having won on the road since a 1-0 victory at Southend in late October. While the Cumbrians have notched only four goals in the six match run an unhealthy ten have hit the back of the wrong net.
Doncaster lie just one spot outside the play-off positions in League One, picking up 38 points from their 24 games so far. Carlisle meanwhile are holding the final automatic promotion place in the League One table, and have accumulated 42 points from the 23 games they have 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 |
| Doncaster | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 11 |
| Carlisle | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
Carlisle are in a sorry state of late on their travels, though the Mad panel can see them coming away from Keepmoat Stadium with a well-deserved point. No-score draw
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Doncaster | Unbeaten run of four games. Four matches since last home draw. |
| Carlisle | Last drawn game six outings ago. Not won in previous six away matches. |