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United start their 2007-08 League One campaign on the road in the West Midlands tomorrow as they visit Banks's Stadium, needing to turn around their fortunes at the ground formally known as the Bescot Stadium.
The Cumbrians though will be hoping to improve on a poor record at Walsall which has seen them lose 14 and win only four of the 22 games contested between the two sides in the West Midlands.
The previous match played between the two at Banks's Stadium was almost exactly four years ago in August 2003, the Saddlers carving out a narrow 2-1 victory in a League Cup first round tie. Carlisle actually took the lead through Craig Russell on 32 minutes only for Paul Merson to equalise for Walsall just three minutes later. The home side scoring the winning goal after 49 minutes when Jorge Leitao chipped into the net over Matt Glennon.
The last time the sides faced each other in a league game at Walsall was back in the 1997-98 season, like tomorrow, the match taking place in the third tier of English football. The home side were again the winners that day as they took all three points courtesy of a 3-1 scoreline. Roger Boli and ex-Carlisle striker Andy Watson making it 3-0 with the Blues grabbing a late consolation through an Owen Archdeacon penalty on 82 minutes.
For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here
| Recent encounters between the teams: | |||||
| 2003/2004 | Tue 12 Aug | Walsall | 2 - 1 | Carlisle | LGEC |
| 1997/1998 | Sat 14 Feb | Carlisle | 1 - 1 | Walsall | LGE1 |
| 1997/1998 | Sat 04 Oct | Walsall | 3 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 1995/1996 | Sat 16 Dec | Carlisle | 1 - 1 | Walsall | LGE1 |
| 1995/1996 | Sat 30 Sep | Walsall | 2 - 1 | Carlisle | LGE1 |
| 1994/1995 | Sat 18 Mar | Carlisle | 2 - 1 | Walsall | LGE2 |
| 1994/1995 | Tue 30 Aug | Walsall | 1 - 2 | Carlisle | LGE2 |
Recent respective form guides
Walsall had an excellent home record last season on their way to clinching the League Two title, losing only three but winning a bumper 16 of their 23 league games at the Banks's Stadium.
Carlisle's away form was patchy at best in League One last season, although it did improve towards the end of the campaign, United eventually winning seven, drawing six and losing ten of their 23 league games on the road.
For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here
| Form guides last season end | P | W | D | L | F | A | P |
| Walsall | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 13 |
| Carlisle | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
FootyMad's prediction ...
Carlisle's decent recent efforts out on the road should see them narrowly take the spoils from the match with Walsall, believes the FootyMad team. Away win
| Sequence statistics: | |
| Walsall | Eight games since last home draw. |
| Carlisle | Seven matches since last away draw. |