United head into the weekend off the back of an excellent home victory and with everything still to play for as they look to chase down a play-off place.

Stevenage, for their part, have seen a steady rise up the table thanks to just two defeats from their last seven games through March and April.

Having said that, the brace at Grimsby from Kurtis Guthrie last Saturday was a first win in four for the Boro, and they'll be looking to build on that with the play-off places just five points away.

Goals have been harder to come by this season, with 47 league strikes notched to date, and the club's scoring chart sees an equal spread with Alex Revell [7], Kurtis Guthrie [6], Ben Kennedy [6] and Danny Newton [6] leading the way.

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Manager’s thoughts

Speaking ahead of the game, United boss Steven Pressley said: "I said this after the game last weekend, but what we can't do is sit back and rest on our laurels. We must build on the positive feelings the manner of the win and performance gave us by reproducing the same amount of effort and energy.

"That's all we ask for as managers, coaches and supporters. You'll be forgiven a lot if you play for the shirt every week, whatever the result.

"We go to Stevenage knowing they will give us a really tough test. They've become a team that's hard to beat, and they have players who like to get the ball forward.

"As ever, we've watched them and we know where we think we can impose our style of play on them. In any game we can talk methods, tactics and formations, but it always comes down to the players and what they do that makes the difference on the day.

"Confidence is hiigh, but we need to harness that and make sure we do ourselves and our travelling support justice on the day." 

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Did You Know?

+ In May 2015, 56-year-old goalkeeper Dave Beasant was named on the bench for Stevenage’s play-off semi-final against Southend, making him the oldest individual to be selected in a squad in Football League history.

+ The club dropped ‘Borough’ from their name in June 2010 after gaining promotion to the Football League.

+ Stevenage became the first team to win a competitive final at the new Wembley Stadium in 2007, beating Kidderminster Harriers 3–2 to lift the FA Trophy in front of a competition record crowd of 53,262.

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Head to Head

These teams have met on a total of 18 occasions since coming together for the first time during our season in the Conference back in 2004/05.

Borough had the better of the meetings during that season, winning 2-1 both home and away, but it was the Blues who ended up with the biggest smiles on their faces when they returned to the Football League at the first time of asking with a 1-0 win in the play-off final in Stoke. Peter Murphy scored the goal on the day when he nodded a Tom Cowan cross into the back of the net.

United currently hold the overall bragging rights with eight wins compared to six for the visitors. 

They picked up where they left off last season when they came north in September. Carlisle were made to pay for early missed chances when Ben Kennedy scored a beauty after the break, and there was more disappointment when an Adam Campbell header crashed against the post late in the day.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

As stated, last season's home game was a tough one for the Blues as early second half goals from Kennedy and Tom Pett put Borough in cruise control as they saw their way through to a comfortable three points.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

January's visit to the Lamex was a much tighter affair but it was United who created the better of the chances, with Danny Grainger and Jamie Devitt both going close from first half free kicks. Sam Cosgrove could have wrapped things up when he was played clean through but, in the end, neither side could find a way to break the deadlock.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

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Man in the middle:

Our match referee this weekend is Mr Carl Boyeson. Carl has taken charge of 33 games so far this season showing 109 yellow cards and five reds.

He was last our match referee in January when he took charge of the home game against Cheltenham. Early second half goals from Jamie Devitt and Hallam Hope bagged us the victory, and there were no United names taken on the day.

Also this season he was man in the middle for our home game against Forest Green in November. Ben Morris and Carl Winchester had given the visitors a two-goal cushion, but a late Jamie Devitt penalty turned out to be nothing more than a consolation as Rovers claimed their victory. Anthony Gerrard was the only Carlisle name to be logged.

Think back a year and he was in charge of a game that turned into a thriller for all the wrong reasons when we made the trip to face Wycombe last February. A horrible first half saw the Blues go two goals behind as Matt Bloomfield and Luke O'Nien bagged quickfire goals either side of the half hour mark.

The tide changed at the start of the second half when O'Nien was sent off, and a penalty from Danny Grainger brought United right back into the game. Jamie Devitt and Cole Stockton turned it well and truly on its head, and the visitors appeared to have secured the three points as the clock ticked in to time added on.

That was when the world fell apart for the Cumbrians as Marcus Bean and Paris Cowan-Hall pounced within seconds of each other to leave the away side pondering what might have been. 

Referee – Carl Boyeson
Assistant Referee 1 – Michael Webb
Assistant Referee 2 – Matthew Lee
Fourth Official – Joe Simpson

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Ticket information:

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