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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 thirteen of the 27 previous games, with the Blues victorious in just eleven.
Last time the sides met at Brunton Park was in early December 2006 on the way to Scunthorpe winning the League One title that season. Prolific strike duo Billy Sharp and Andy Keogh grabbing a goal apeice that Saturday afternoon in front of 6,954 spectators.
Previous to that 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 | |||||
| 2008/2009 | Sat 13 Sep | Scunthorpe | 2 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 2006/2007 | Sat 05 May | Scunthorpe | 3 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 2006/2007 | Sat 09 Dec | Carlisle | 0 - 2 | Scunthorpe | LGE1 |
| 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 |
Recent respective form guides
Carlisle's poor home run of late has seen them win just one and draw two of their last six games at Brunton Park. While the Cumbrians have scored seven goals, a worringly large 11 have been leaked at the other end.
Scunthorpe's away form is none too clever either though, winning two of their previous six matches away from Glanford Park, but losing the last four in a row. While the Iron have netted eight goals, a bumper 12 have hit the back of the wrong net.
Carlisle find themselves struggling down in 16th position in the league having picked up just 41 points from their 36 matches contested to date. Scunthorpe meanwhile lie just outside the play-off positions in the League One table, in seventh, picking up 57 points from their 35 games 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 |
| Carlisle | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 5 |
| Scunthorpe | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 4 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
These are testing recent times at Brunton Park for the Cumbrians and the Madmen are unable to see past Scunthorpe claiming victory in a close match.
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Carlisle | Not won in the two most recent matches. Failed to win in previous five home games. |
| Scunthorpe | Lost all of the previous four away matches. |