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The Cumbrians welcome Rovers to Cumbria tomorrow afternoon, and hold the advantage on previous meetings between the two teams. Of the 31 games played at Brunton Park, United have recorded 15 wins, Tranmere have come away with seven victories and nine of the matches have ended in draws.
The last time the two teams met in Cumbria was back in August 1998 as Rovers won 1-0 on the night, and 4-0 on aggregate, against the Blues in a first round Worthington Cup tie, with just 2,106 fans inside Brunton Park that Tuesday evening. In the 1996-97 season Carlisle defeated Tranmere 1-0 at home in a third round FA Cup tie in front of 10,090 fans, Owen Archdeacon scoring the all-important goal bang on the half-hour mark in a match that will be remembered for John Aldridge's tirade of abuse at the referee and subsequent red card.
In the league the previous time the two sides played each other at Brunton Park was in the old Fourth Division way back in the 1988-89 season, the match ending in a 1-1 draw. Jon Clark scoring United's goal in front of just 2,384 spectators. Carlisle's biggest win over Rovers came in the 1952-53 Third Division North as they won 4-0 with goal from Jimmy Whitehouse, Ian Atkinson, Robert Harrison and Alan Ashman. Rovers' biggest win at Brunton Park came courtesy of two 3-0 scorelines, one in the Fourth Division in 1961-62 and the other in Division Three North in 1955-56.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2005/2006 | Tue 20 Dec | Tranmere | 0 - 0 | Carlisle | ASSM |
| 2001/2002 | Sat 08 Dec | Tranmere | 6 - 1 | Carlisle | FAC |
| 1998/1999 | Tue 18 Aug | Carlisle | 0 - 1 | Tranmere | LGEC |
| 1998/1999 | Tue 11 Aug | Tranmere | 3 - 0 | Carlisle | LGEC |
| 1996/1997 | Tue 14 Jan | Carlisle | 1 - 0 | Tranmere | FAC |
| 1988/1989 | Fri 17 Mar | Tranmere | 0 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
| 1988/1989 | Sat 10 Sep | Carlisle | 1 - 1 | Tranmere | LGE2 |
Recent respective form guides
Carlisle have been playing quite well at home this season, winning three, drawing two, and losing just one of their last six matches at Brunton Park. A total of ten goals have been scored by the Cumbrians in those games, with five conceded.
Tranmere have had a decent run of form on the road recently, coming away with three points on three occasions, but drawing one and losing two, although they haven't won any of their last three matches away from Prenton Park. The games have constituted a decent return of eight goals for Rovers, and just five goals against.
Carlisle's 20 points from 14 games sees them lie just inside the top half of the table, in 12th position, United currently stuck in no-mans land eight points off the top of the table and ten points clear of bottom spot.
Tranmere's total of 22 points from their 14 games has them sitting in the last play-off place in an extremely tight League One table, Rovers four points off the automatic promotion places.
For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here
| Current home and away form guides: | P | W | D | L | F | A | P |
| Carlisle | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 7 |
| Tranmere | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
This is certainly an intriguing match for the Cumbrians, and one in which the FootyMad team are tentatively suggesting a drawn game. Score draw
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Carlisle | Four games since last home draw. Not won in the four most recent matches. |
| Tranmere | No sequences of note |