CARLISLE UNITED v Chesterfield
Brunton Park
Sat 4 February 2012 - 3pm kick-off

United will be hoping to bounce back after last weekend's disappointing performance at Hartlepool when they take on Chesterfield at Brunton Park in npower League One tomorrow.

The Blues suffered their joint heaviest defeat of the season at Victoria Park as they were beaten for the first time in nine league fixtures, a run of results that had taken the club to the edge of the play-off positions.

Now manager Greg Abbott will be hoping his side can respond with a positive result and go on another good run of form, just as they did after a 4-1 defeat against this weekend's opponents earlier this season.

Chesterfield appeared to be on cloud nine after that victory at the B2net Stadium and many expected them to go on a good run and push up the table after a convincing performance. However, things didn't quite work out that way as they took another 18 games to pick up a league win while United lost just two of their next 17 fixtures.

Spireites boss John Sheridan endured a tough first half of the season after having guided the club to the League Two title and promotion last season. But the former Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United player looks to have turned things around since the start of the year with a good run of results.

That run of games included Monday night's success at Oldham Athletic which earned the club a place in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final next month at Wembley Stadium and the opportunity to win the competition that United are currently the holders of.

Sheridan will be hoping that his side can use that cup competition success to spur his side on in the league as they look to avoid an instant return to the fourth tier of English football next season.

United will be forced into at least one change for this weekend's game as Lee Miller starts his three-match suspension for the red card he received against Hartlepool United last weekend.

Miller's absence could hand an opportunity to either Paddy Madden or Jordan Cook or even both players, should manager Greg Abbott decide to switch formation. Defender Peter Murphy will also be pushing for a recall after being named among the substitutes against Pools following his recovery from a back injury.

Fellow defender Matty Robson is likely to miss out again with a back injury, while Craig Curran is hoping to return to full training next week after his knee injury. Rory Loy is continuing his rehab programme from his broken leg.

First year professionals Ben Mckenna and Steve Swinglehurst both remain unavailable due to being on-loan at Scottish side Annan Athletic.

Visitors Chesterfield will have defenders Neal Trotman and Liam Ridehalgh available again after they missed the JPT Northern Area final win against Oldham Athletic due to being cup-tied.

Midfielder Jamie Lowry could make his first league start for over two years after featuring in that win over the Latics, while forward Nicky Ajose is likely to go straight into the matchday squad after joining on-loan until the end of the season from Championship side Peterborough United.

Referee - Geoff Eltringham
Assistants - Scott Oldham and Jeremy Simpson
Fourth Official - Simeon Lucas 

Mr Eltringham last took charge of a United game back in December when Wycombe Wanderers were the visitors to Brunton Park. An exciting game ended in a 2-2 draw, with Rory Loy giving United the lead after just two minutes only for a stunning Anthony McNamee strike and Marcello Trotta's smart finish to put the Chairboys into the lead. The strugglers almost held on for all three points but Francois Zoko's late header was enough to earn the Blues a draw.

Four players were booked that day, with Leon Johnson and Matt Bloomfield picking up cautions for the visitors and Francois Zoko and James Berrett earning yellow cards for United.

Record This Season

Games - 25
Yellow Cards - 56
Red Cards - 4

This game is not all-ticket and admission prices are at the normal rate for league games.

More on savings made by buying tickets in advance and other info can be found clicking here.

A new ground entry system is running for this season's home fixtures. We advise fans to get to the ground as early and where possible, buy tickets in advance to avoid delays. More details on this can be found by clicking here.

If you can't make it down to the game then there are a number of ways you can follow the action.

BBC Radio Cumbria will once again be providing commentary for all first-team fixtures this season. You can listen to all the build-up from 2pm onwards and then full match commentary from 3pm on 95.2, 95.6, 96.1, 104.1 and 104.2 FM.

For those living outside of Cumbria, commentary is available on United Player. There will also be video reaction after the game on Player, along with extended highlights (kindly sponsored by the CUSC London Branch for the fourth consecutive season). For more details on how you can sign up for United Player, click here.

You can watch goals and highlights from all three divisions on the Football League Show - this week the show will be broadcast on BBC1 at 11-40pm on Saturday evening.

If you're at the game this weekend, you can pick up a copy of the official matchday programme.

Priced at just £2, the 48-page publication - Brunton Scene - will bring matchday information and articles to help to get you in the mood in the run-up to kick off on the big day.

Issue 14, for the visit of Chesterfield, is packed with information about our visitors and also includes comment from Greg Abbott and Paul Thirlwell, as well as reaction from the recent away fixtures.

Regular features this season will include a walk through the history of the club with David Steele, news from the terraces with Tim Graham, and a view from the press box with our BBC Radio Cumbria commentary team.

Introduced for the first time this year, a new Brunton Scene Voucher Scheme will bring regular savings for everyone who gets a programme through a stamp system. More information on this scheme can be found by clicking here.

Coral Bet are the official online betting partner and every bet you make with them helps the club earn more revenue.

The latest odds for the result on 90 minutes are as follows:

CUFC - 4/5
Spireites - 7/2
Draw - 5/2

A few selected first goal scorer bets are list below:

Paddy Madden (CUFC) - 6/1
Paul Thirlwell (CUFC) - 22/1
Danny Livesey (CUFC) - 33/1
Jack Lester (Spireites) - 7/1

Remember though - the club will only benefit if you access the Coral site through the links here on the official website. So click HERE and sign up today.

Terms & Conditions: Applicants must be at least 18 years old to open a Coral account. Carlisle United Football Club supports responsible gambling. Contact www.gamcare.org.uk for further information.