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The Blues face a trip to the Wirral on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon, looking to improve on an average record at Prenton Park. United having won eleven, drawn seven and lost 21 games at the home of Tranmere over the years.
Last season in the league the two teams fought out a dour 0-0 draw on the Wirral on the 28th December 2009 in front of 6,313 fans. Tranmere going the closest to finding the net in the 64th minute when now United player Craig Curran hit the underside of Adam Collin's crossbar with a close range effort.
In the 2008-09 campaign in League One the Cumbrians crashed to a 4-1 defeat at Prenton Park with all the goals coming in the second-half. Ian Thomas-Moore and Gareth Edds putting the home side 2-0 up before Danny Graham pulled a goal back for United. Further Rovers goals from Steve Jennings and Thomas-Moore again condemning the Blues to a disappointing result as 5,924 spectators looked on.
Carlisle have endured some other heavy defeats on the Wirral over the years, the Blues having been hammered 6-1 on three occasions. The last time United were thumped by that scoreline was in the 2001-02 season in the second round of the FA Cup. Tranmere were already 3-0 up on 17 minutes through a Jason Koumas brace and a goal from Jason Price before Ian Stevens missed a penalty and Will McDonagh was sent off on his debut for two bookings as the Blues compounded their own misery.
That was rubbed in even further bang on the half-time whistle when Koumas completed his hat-trick with a long-range rasper. Stuart Barlow's penalty for Rovers on 70 minutes made the score 5-0 before Richie Foran grabbed what could loosely be called a consolation goal for Carlisle just sixty seconds later. In front of an attendance of 7,428 fans though the home side had the final word in the 76th minute when Stephen Yates completed the 6-1 rout.
United's best margin of victory at Prenton Park has twice been by a scoreline of 3-0, once in Division Four in 1961-62 and once in Division Three North in 1947-48. The most memorable of those seasons was the promotion campaign in the early 60's as the Blues finished fourth in the old Division Four. Carlisle's win away to Rovers in early October coming thanks to a George Walker brace and a goal from Sammy Taylor as 10,050 spectators looked on.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams | |||||
| 2010/2011 | Tue 02 Nov | Carlisle | 2 - 0 | Tranmere | LGE1 |
| 2009/2010 | Mon 28 Dec | Tranmere | 0 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 2009/2010 | Sat 05 Sep | Carlisle | 3 - 0 | Tranmere | LGE1 |
| 2008/2009 | Sat 24 Jan | Tranmere | 4 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 2008/2009 | Sat 04 Oct | Carlisle | 1 - 2 | Tranmere | LGE1 |
| 2007/2008 | We 26 Dec | Tranmere | 2 - 0 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 2007/2008 | Sat 08 Sep | Carlisle | 0 - 1 | Tranmere | LGE1 |
Recent respective form guides
Tranmere have managed to pick up just two wins from their last six home games, losing three and drawing the other one. Rovers have scored six goals in these games, but have conceded seven.
Carlisle meanwhile have a slightly less than average recent record on the road, picking up two good wins and drawing one but losing three, from their last six matches away from Brunton Park. The Cumbrians have a narrow positive goal difference over these games, with eight goals for and seven against.
Tranmere are hovering perilously just above the relegation zone at the moment, in 20th, with 22 points picked up from their 20 matches contested to date. Carlisle on the other hand see themselves just below half-way in the Npower League One table, in 14th, showing a record of 28 points from their 20 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 |
| Tranmere | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Carlisle | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 8 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
The away form of the Cumbrians has not been the best, though the Footymad panel sees them pulling off a narrow win on their visit to Tranmere.. Away win
| Sequence statistics | |
| Tranmere | Lost last three home games. Defeated four matches in a row. |
| Carlisle | No win in the two most recent games. Not won in previous three away matches. |