It was very much honours even between these sides last season as they exchanged 2-1 away victories from their League Two meetings.
Having flirted with the bottom places for much of the second half of the last campaign, they’ll be looking for an improvement and a smoother ride this time round.
Up and running
The Valiants kicked off the season with a worrying defeat as they went down 2-0 in Essex against Colchester but the bounce-back was immediate with a convincing 3-0 home win over Cambridge to get themselves up and running.
Forwards Rick Miller and Tom Pope (2) bagged the goals.
A dogged performance at the weekend earned them their second victory of the campaign as Luke Hannant found the back of the net midway through the first half.
This game brings a return to Carlisle for midfield favourite Luke Joyce. 'Joycey' bagged five goals - some stunners amongst them - in 161 appearances across two spells with the club and there's no doubt that he'll get a good reception when he takes to the field ahead of the game.
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Manager’s thoughts
Speaking ahead of the game, United boss John Sheridan said: “I know Neil Aspin well 
and he’ll have his team very hard to beat.
“They’ve had two good results and they’ll want to keep that going, but they’re all tough games at this level, it doesn’t matter who you play.
“When we’re at home I expect us to win, and I’m not being disrespectful to anyone in saying that.
“I want us to be strong and believe that we can beat anybody in front of our own fans.”
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Comments from Port Vale boss Neil Aspin
“In the three league games we have now had one where we have played well, one where we have not played at all, and this one [against Crawley on Saturday] where we need to be better than we were today.
"So, it has been a mixture, but if you'd have asked me before the season if would I take six points from the opening three games, of course I would have said yes.
“Now we have the tough trip to play Carlisle and that’s never an easy place to go. They’ve had a good away win but we go there looking to improve on what we’ve been doing and to get some momentum going.”
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Did You Know?
+ The club were once called Burslem Port Vale, but dropped the ‘Burslem’ from their name in 1907.
+ Port Vale hold the record for the most seasons in the Football League without playing
top-flight football - 106.
+ Perhaps Port Vale’s most famous supporter is singer Robbie Williams, who even owned shares in the club until 2012.
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Head to Head
The sides have met a total of 35 times with the Valiants holding slightly the upper hand. They have 13 victories in comparison to United’s 12.
|
Carlisle wins |
Draws |
Port Vale wins |
|
|
League |
11 |
8 |
9 |
|
League Cup |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Cup |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
FA Cup |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Total |
12 |
10 |
13 |
The last meeting between these teams was in April, at the end of last season. Tuesday’s referee, Ben Toner, was also the official for that game – see the referee section below for match details.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The Blues had made heavy weather of the game earlier in the season, just before Christmas, when they allowed Tyrone Barnett and Tom Pope to give the visitors an unexpected two-goal cushion. A late strike from Richie Bennett did little to prevent the way side from taking the spoils on the day.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
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Man in the middle:
The referee for this game is Mr Ben Toner. We last saw him, coincidentally, at Vale Park in March last season when second half goals from Ashley Nadesan and Hallam Hope handed the Blues a hard fought victory. Dior Angus had given the home side a first half lead, but Antony Kay was sent off for the hosts as tempers flared late in the game.
He was with us at Brunton Park in November last season when we beat Yeovil Town by 4-0, with Danny Grainger (2), Hallam Hope and Shaun Miller getting the goals. Bevis Mugabi was sent off with 15 minutes left to play for the Glovers.
The Checkatrade Trophy had brought him north two months earlier when Layton Ndukwu scored for Leicester City’s under-21 side to register a shock defeat for the Foxes. No names were taken on the night.
Referee - Ben Toner
Assistant Referee 1 - Barry Gordon
Assistant Referee 2 - Richard Wild
Fourth Official - Andy Haines
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Ticket information:
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