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The Blues welcome the Millers to Cumbria tomorrow, needing to improve on a poor home record against their visitors. Rotherham having won 12 of the 31 games played at Brunton Park, with Carlisle winning just 11.
The last time the two teams met in a United home match was way back in late November 1999, as the Millers sneaked a narrow 1-0 win. Rotherham taking all three points back down to Millmoor courtesy of a heartbreaking 90th minute winner from Paul Hurst in a League Division Three (fourth tier) match. Only 2,649 fans were in attendance at Brunton Park that day in the dark days of Michael Knighton, United again avoiding relegation to the Conference on the final day of the season by the narrowest of margins, this time due to a two-goal advantage on goal difference that saw Chester City plunge through the non-league trapdoor. Rotherham meanwhile were promoted in second place, after defeating the Blues in the return match at Millmoor 4-2, as they finished just one point behind 1999-2000 Division Three champions Swansea City.
Carlisle's biggest home win over the Millers came in the 1967-68 season when the Blues romped home 4-1 in a Division Two (second tier) match. Frank McCarron, Tommy Murray, Peter Garbutt and a Rotherham own goal sealing the United victory in front of 9,496 spectators inside Brunton Park. The Millers though can lay claim to a huge 8-1 win as their biggest victory at Carlisle, that hammering of the Blues coming in the 1948-49 Division Three North campaign, a season that saw Rotherham eventually promoted in second place behind champions Hull City. The visitors raced into a 3-1 lead at half-time, with United's goal coming from Lloyd Iceton, before adding five more goals after the break to completely silence a bumper post-war Brunton Park crowd of 14,639.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2002/2003 | Tue 10 Sep | Rotherham | 3 - 1 | Carlisle | LGEC |
| 1999/2000 | Sat 19 Feb | Rotherham | 4 - 2 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1999/2000 | Sat 27 Nov | Carlisle | 0 - 1 | Rotherham | LGE2 |
| 1998/1999 | Sat 17 Apr | Rotherham | 3 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1998/1999 | Sat 21 Nov | Carlisle | 0 - 0 | Rotherham | LGE2 |
| 1995/1996 | Tue 26 Mar | Carlisle | 2 - 0 | Rotherham | LGE1 |
| 1995/1996 | Tue 29 Aug | Rotherham | 2 - 2 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
Recent respective form guides
Carlisle have lost just once in their last six home games, in complete contrast to their dire away form, winning four and drawing the other one. A total of ten goals have been scored by the Cumbrians in those six matches at Brunton Park, with just four conceded.
Rotherham have quite a good recent record on the road, winning and losing three each of the last six games on their travels. The Millers have a narrow positive goal difference over these action-packed games, with 12 goals for and 11 against.
Carlisle lie one point outside the play-off positions, in eighth, in League One, picking up 23 points from their 16 games so far, although the Blues have only taken three points from the last possible fifteen, those coming in a 1-0 home defeat of Tranmere two weeks ago.
Rotherham are hovering perilously just above the relegation zone on goal difference, with 16 points from 16 matches, if you take away the fact that they were deducted 10 points for entering administration though, then the Millers would be riding high in fifth place.
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 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 4 |
| Rotherham | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 9 | 12 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
United are starting to turn Brunton Park into a fortress, but the quality of opposition for this game makes your FootyMad panel believe the teams will share the spoils on this occasion. Score draw
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Carlisle | Five games since last home draw. |
| Rotherham | Seven games since last away draw. Last drawn match ten outings ago. |