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Carlisle are ready to welcome Scunthorpe to Cumbria on Saturday afternoon, needing to improve on a poor record at home to the Iron, the visitors having won twelve of the 25 previous games, with the Blues winning just eleven.
The previous match played between the two teams at Brunton Park was just over three years ago in October 2003, as the visitors ran out cosy 4-1 winners in a Division Three (fourth tier) match, that being the biggest away win for Scunthorpe at the home of the Cumbrians. Those three points earned for the Iron proving to be hugely important come the end of the 2003-04 season as Carlisle were relegated into the Nationwide Conference with 45 points while Scunthorpe just survived the drop, in 22nd place, on 49 points. The Blues were already 4-0 down that Tuesday night, in front of just 3,437 spectators, before Craig Farrell grabbed a late consolation goal with just three minutes to go.
The Blues' biggest win over Scunthorpe came by virtue of a thumping 8-0 victory in the 1952-53 Division Three North season, a margin of success that remains, along with a victory by the same scoreline over Hartlepools in the 1928-29 Division Three North campaign, as the biggest in the history of the club. 9,518 fans saw Carlisle go 5-0 up by half-time as the eight goals were shared between Jimmy Whitehouse who went nap with five, Alan Ashman with two and Robert Harrison.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2003/2004 | Tue 23 Mar | Scunthorpe | 2 - 3 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 2003/2004 | Tue 21 Oct | Carlisle | 1 - 4 | Scunthorpe | LGE2 |
| 2002/2003 | Tue 11 Mar | Carlisle | 1 - 2 | Scunthorpe | LGE2 |
| 2002/2003 | Mon 23 Dec | Carlisle | 0 - 1 | Scunthorpe | FAC |
| 2002/2003 | Sat 07 Dec | Scunthorpe | 0 - 0 | Carlisle | FAC |
| 2002/2003 | Tue 17 Sep | Scunthorpe | 3 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 2001/2002 | Sat 16 Mar | Scunthorpe | 2 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
Recent respective form guides
Carlisle have lost just once, 2-1 against Millwall, in their last six home games, winning four and drawing the other one. A total of eleven goals have been scored by the Cumbrians in those games, with six conceded.
Scunthorpe's away form is equally impressive, with an unbeaten run in the last six, four of them victories. The Iron have managed to tuck away ten goals in this period, and concede just the two, four of those goals scored coming in a hugely impressive 4-0 win over table-toppers Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Carlisle lie just one point outside the promotion play-off positions, in eighth, in the League One table, picking up 30 points from their 20 games so far.
Scunthorpe are holding the final promotion place on goal difference from Bristol City as they sit second in the table, and have accumulated 36 points from the 20 matches they have played so far.
For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here
| Current league form guides: | P | W | D | L | F | A | P |
| Carlisle | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| Scunthorpe | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 14 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
Carlisle are performing very well at home, but your FootyMad panel reckons that the overall quality of Scunthorpe will prove too much for the homesters. Away win
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Carlisle | Unbeaten in the last three home games. Not drawn a match in their last four outings. |
| Scunthorpe | Undefeated in last eight away games. |