The day has finally arrived - it's down to just ninety minutes of football between The Blues and Leeds United in the Second Leg of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Northern Area Final (7pm kick off) to decide who will go to the overall final at Wembley on 28 March 2010.

United hold the advantage from the first leg after a 2-1 win at Elland Road last month but Leeds have won on their last two visits to Brunton Park and Blues fans will still remember how their play-off dreams were crushed two years ago by that 2-0 win thanks to a Johnny Howson brace.

Leeds find themselves in second place in League One at the moment but are just behind leaders Norwich with games in hand. Good performances in the cup also point to this being a very successful season for manager Simon Grayson, and a Wembley final would be the icing on the cake.

His side will no doubt attack from the very start as they look to overcome United's slim advantage from the first leg. On the other hand, United boss Greg Abbott will be wary of his side sitting back and defending a first leg lead after the collapse in the play-offs two season ago. It should prove an enthralling encounter between two sides desperate for that opportunity to play at the home of football next month.

There is no away goals rule in this evening's tie. A victory to Leeds by a one-goal margin would force the game into a penalty shoot out as there is no extra time in the competition, with the exception of the overall final at Wembley.

PLEASE NOTE - There will be NO cash admission on the evening of the game at the request of Cumbria Constabulary. Tickets will be available up until 2pm today and can be bought over the phone and picked up at Brunton Park before kick off. Full ticket details are available by clicking here.

United will be wearing blue shirts, white shorts and white socks for tonight's game. To get the latest on the kit drama's of United kitman Andy Hall, you can follow him on twitter at twitter.com/cufckit

You can now also become a fan of United on Facebook! Simply visit www.facebook.com/carlisleunitedfc and select the "Become A Fan" option to show your support and receive regular updates.

PRE-MATCH COMMENTS

United manager Greg Abbott, speaking to the media ahead of tonight's game, said:

"There's a bit of excitement around about this one.

"It's nice to see the fans here today buying the tickets because it's a nice game for everyone to look forward to.

"We've worked hard over the past few weeks to give a good account of ourselves, and the confidence is there. It's another really tough game that's coming up on Tuesday night but we intend to do the same again, give it a good shot, and we'll see what happens.

"When we went to Elland Road the hope was that we would come away still in with a fighting chance. We did that and we're in a good position, but we can't take anything for granted. We know all about them and the strength they have in depth, so we have to be ready to roll our sleeves up and work hard.

"Other people might be saying that we are still the underdogs but we'll just have to wait and see. With the determination that's in the squad, and with the energy and the commitment, we know that we can match anyone if we do things right. We'll be going out there to produce the goods again tomorrow."

A full video interview with Greg is available to subscribers on United Player.

Leeds United manager Simon Grayson, speaking to the media ahead of tonight's game, said:

"We've come this far in the competition, we're looking for the result we need.

"We've played Darlington, Grimsby, and Accrington and we've been taking this seriously. We're 90 minutes away from Wembley and we have an opportunity. We know we are capable of turning the result around.

"They have some good players with some good experience. We know what to expect. We played well enough to win last weekend and played well against Tottenham and Colchester so we can turn it around.

"Our players have produced performances at Old Trafford and Tottenham, and under pressure at Elland Road, so they can handle pressure.

"It's not as if we are two or three goals behind. They will want to put the game to bed, but we have to make sure we don't concede and turn the deficit into a positive.

"We want to win a cup competition. It's a cup run and we want to win it. If we get to Wembley I'm sure we'll have a fantastic following."

UNITED TEAM NEWS

United have been given a boost ahead of the game after two players overcame injury worries to return to full training.

Defender and top scorer Ian Harte came off at half-time in the draw at Huddersfield this weekend as a precaution after feeling a slight twinge in his hamstring. But the former Leeds player took part in training yesterday and will be available for selection against his old club.

Also available will be Joe Anyinsah. He missed the last two games with a lower stomach/groin injury but after visiting a specialist and receiving an injection last week, has now returned to full training and is in contention to feature against The Whites.

Two players who will definitely not be available for selection are recent loan signings Darryl Duffy and Ben Marshall. Both players have already featured in the tournament this season for Bristol Rovers and Northampton Town respectively and are therefore cup tied for the game.

Both Andy Cook (foot) and David Raven (hip) remain out with long term injuries. Gavin Rothery (double hernia) also remains sidelined while Michael Burns is out on-loan at Stafford Rangers.

LEEDS UNITED TEAM NEWS

The Whites have injury concerns surrounding several players ahead of this evening's game.

The biggest worry for boss Simon Grayson is top scorer Jermaine Beckford. He was forced to come off at half time against Hartlepool at the weekend and is now touch and go to play tonight after having a scan on his hamstring yesterday. 

Also doubtful due to injury are Patrick Kisnorbo (calf) and Neil Kilkenny (ankle), though back-up keeper David Martin is fit again and available for selection.

New signings Gary McSheffrey and Shane Lowry are both available as is Max Gradel, who missed the first leg at Elland Road as his loan spell from Leicester City had expired but has since signed a permanent deal at Elland Road.

REF WATCH

The referee for this weekend's game will be Andy Hall from the West Midlands.

He has already taken charge of a United game this season when he was the man in the middle for the League One game against Stockport County at Edgeley Park near the start of the season in August. United won that game 2-1 thanks to goals from Kevan Hurst and Joe Anyinsah, with County's goal being a Richard Keogh own goal. Four players were booked that day, with two for County and two for United (Dobie and Robson).

Taking up assistant referee duties will be Gary Beswick and Dean Mohareb, with Neil Swarbrick in the fourth official role.

BETTING NEWS

We're well into the second half of the season now and there are still plenty of opportunities to get great odds with our online bookmaker bet365.

United may have won the first leg 2-1 and have home advantage this time around, but that hasn't been considered by the bookies who make United outsiders at 13/5. They've made Leeds favourites to win at evens, with the draw available at 5/2 (NOTE - these odds are for the result on ninety minutes and do not include any potential penalty shoot out).

The first leg success at Elland Road was started with a stunning volley from United player-coach Graham Kavanagh that put United 1-0 up in the first half. Fancy him to repeat the feat by opening the scoring at Brunton Park this evening? You can get odds of 14/1 on him scoring the first goal. Combine that with a 2-1 win in a scorecast and you get odds of 110/1.

For details on odds available on the game as well as other fixtures across Europe and other sports, visit the bet365 website by clicking HERE.